Six-year-old critical after being shot by her 13 year old brother - MSNBC

[WillyT]

Six-year-old critical after being shot by her 13 year old brother
By Gilma Avalos, NBCMiami.com
5/5/13

<snip>

A six-year-old Florida girl was in critical condition Sunday after being shot by her 13-year-old brother Saturday night in a city just north of Fort Lauderdale.

Neighbors said the two children were playing a game when the shooting occurred shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday in Oakland Park, a city in Broward Country.

"They were playing hide and go seek. I don't know how it went down but he shot his sister," said neighbor Peter Milano, who saw a frantic woman he thought was the children's aunt running down the block. "She came up to me 'Is she ok? Is she ok?' At the time I didn't know what she was talking about," Milano said.

It's not clear if authorities will pursue criminal charges in the case. Detectives believe the shooting was accidental but were still trying to determine exactly how the teen got access to the gun. The children were home alone at the time of the incident, said Dani Moschella, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Homicide detectives spent time talking with the 13-year-old. Neighbors said he drew pictures for investigators as he described what happened.

"The kid's probably, well, how could you feel, you just shot your sister?" Milano said.

<snip>

Link: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/05/18068523-six-year-old-critical-after-being-shot-by-her-13-year-old-brother?lite

[DesertFlower]

1. OMG -- another one.

[ailsagirl]

38. out-of-control

This is insanity

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. hide and seek with guns?

[surrealAmerican]

11. My guess would be ...

... the boy found the gun's "hiding place".

[KurtNYC]

42. They were playing the Dick Cheney version. (apparently)

[DesertRat]

3. OMG, not again!

[MH1]

4. More "responsible" gun ownership.

[Walk away]

28. More gun ownership! nt

[FunkyLeprechaun]

5. why can't people just fucking lock up their guns

idiots

[kestrel91316]

15. Then they couldn't get to them in the event of a government tyranny.

They happen without even 60 seconds' notice, you know.

[CTyankee]

50. there is a basic logical disconnect in the argument for one's right to protect one's home and

the safety issue, IMO. It never seemed right to me, I was always wondering how you could be ready to get the jump on a house invader in the middle of night AND have enough safety precautions in place to keep your kids safe. I mean, if you have to get up in the middle of night sleep, go to your safe and unlock it to get your gun, you are at a real disadvantage against an invader.

I have never heard a convincing argument from the other side.

[burnodo]

6. Is there a higher count of these stories lately?

Or have they happened in the past and we weren't as aware of them before things like Newtown? Somehow I think these tragedies have been going on, just out of the national spotlight.

[SheilaT]

9. These incidents happen every single day.

They've been happening every single day for a long time. It's just that recently more stories hit the national news than used to.

It's a little like commercial plane accidents. After one of those, for a while every single missed approach or tire blown on landing makes it into the news. Things like that, in the airline industry, happen pretty much every single day, but rarely are reported. Except after a major crash.

Gun deaths are a steady thirty or so every day. I don't know how many more shootings that merely result in injury happen every day. But mostly they don't get reported, or don't get widely reported.

Meanwhile, the gun apologists shrug off each and every incident because, after all, it's such a tiny percentage of the population who are killed or wounded. I just wish it would only the the gun apologists themselves who are on the wrong end of these statistics.

[Snake Plissken]

16. They've been happening every single day for a long time, and expect them to increase

A lot of painfully stupid people were convinced by the likes of Glenn Beck to purchase firearms over the last four years. The probability of these guns getting into the hands of children has increased dramatically, especially when the novelty of Obama taking their guns wears off and the firearms they impulsively purchased are tossed into a drawer or the back of the closet, and they move on to the next Right Wing Drama to focus on.

[Snake Plissken]

7. The NRA will blame this on the six year old not being armed with a gun to defend herself

Enough is enough already, this insanity has to end. I wouldn't be surprised if this gun was purchased recently because of the NRA's fear mongering

[JaneyVee]

8. 'Merica! Freedumb!

[cantbeserious]

10. Another Tragedy Sponsored By The NRA

eom

[SunSeeker]

12. responsible gun owner = oxymoron

[Gore1FL]

13. Critical? I'd be downright obnoxious about it. n/t

[kestrel91316]

14. This would never have happened if the 6 yo girl had had a gun.

[lobodons]

17. Not a good week

Not a good week for little sisters in Toothlessville.

[treestar]

18. With all these stories in the news, why do not adults lock up the effin' guns? !!!!

Maybe a public safety campaign is needed. The NRA could pay for it.

[nolabear]

19. Those poor children. They'll never be the same.

Unbelievably tragic. And so easily prevented.

[smirkymonkey]

20. How many times does this have to happen before we say enough?

I am sickened by this. So tragic.

[marions ghost]

21. I'll say it again

and again and again and again & again

Charge the parents for involuntary manslaughter.

These cases would not be so frequent.

[SoCalMusicLover]

54. Good Luck With That One

It was just an unfortunate accident......"they'll say."

We never could have imagined it......."they'll say."

We are traumatized enough by the whole situation, no need to pile on with charges during our grief....."they'll say."

And on to the next.....

[marions ghost]

55. Thinking is changing on this

involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide. It fits the crime. And it is a crime to let children have access to guns.

It is the only way to stop the continual slaughter of innocents, if you're going to let idiots have guns.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

22. At 13 you should KNOW not to play with guns...

...Whether or not they're laying about. I grew up in a house with guns, but had NO idea that I did until I was about 17 or 18. My dad had a rifle and a revolver. He kept them hidden, but his buddies would go out and shoot from time to time, I just was oblivious to it. Regardless, I was ALWAYS taught that guns are NOT toys. If I even pointed a cap gun at my sister when we would play cops and robbers, I was in BIG trouble. I knew early on. It's funny. It was ingrained in me (since I was about 4) to the point that I STILL get a little uncomfortable around guns.

[VA_Jill]

23. And the NRA sez

"Store guns in your kid's rooms!" Yes they did.

[onehandle]

24. It's insane to arm one kid and not both kids. People need to learn the lesson of détente.

When you give all of your kids equal access to arms, there will be peace.

[geek tragedy]

25. Put the kids into foster care, put the parents into a jail cell. nt

[HockeyMom]

26. A young teen?

Should definitely know better. This is not like the 5 year old at all. I would be very suspicious of something like this. Hide and Seek game? Does not sound right to me.

[Walk away]

29. The "hide and seek" part doesn't sound right but the gun part is OK?

[HockeyMom]

36. Of course not

That gun should have been a locked safe, and certainly not in the "kids bedrooms". My question is when does hide and seek game involve "shooting" the kid being found? In the majority of gun housholds the parents want to take their kids shooting and learn about guns. By 13, this boy wouldn't have? He wouldn't know what a real gun was? Was this really an accident? At his age, I can question this. A 5 year old doesn't know the consequences of his actions. A 13 year old SHOULD.

[Walk away]

39. It's incredible that you know the correct age for children to have guns!

You must be some kind of an expert. Most people I know would think it is insane to give any child a gun.

The point being that it should not be left up to gun blind parents to decide that children are mature enough to own or use guns.

If the NRA hadn't stopped real scientific research into gun violence and safety, we wouldn't have to rely on your idea on how old someone should be before they are safe with a gun. In fact, now that the non-gun loving public are waking up to children with guns, they are getting more uncomfortable with the creepy world of guns.

[HockeyMom]

46. 5 year old versus 13 year old

Do you seriously think that a 5 year old has the same mental skills as a 13 year old? Have you raised your own children? 8 years is a MAJOR difference in childhood. I have raised 2 children and worked in schools for 15 years with young children. While you might argue 2 or 3 years difference in particular children, 8 years is night and day.

[MaineLinePhilly]

27. My family owns guns and we've never had this

I have to wonder how much common sense (or lack there of) is playing into this. I have guns in my home and most of my family does and we've never had any kind of incident like this. The guns are kept locked up in either a glass case or a storage case. My rifles are in the case and the only gun that has ammo in it is the one in my bedroom night stand. Yes having a gun in the house increases the chance of accidental death, but having an idiot who is a gun owner does the same thing as well. I know plenty of people with guns who have never had this issue because they are smart about locking them up and/or keeping them in a location where they know children aren't going to find it. Responsible gun owners DO EXIST, contrary to the people who hear these stories and run with it as if all of us live in some kind of warped fantasy world. While I do believe Congress should've passed the recent legislation expanding background checks and while I do believe there should be stricter limits on who can purchase certain kinds of weapons and the magazine limits allowed, don't generalize all of us gun owners into one category. You only nullify your argument by making sweeping generalizations.

[IveWornAHundredPants]

30. Sweeping generalizations like "guns are dangerous."

By the way, you have a loaded gun in your night table.

[Walk away]

31. You keep a loaded gun in your night stand and you think you are a....

responsible gun owner? Why would a kid ever look in your night stand? Consider yourself lucky nothing like this has ever happened to you. Maybe you should lock up your gun before your luck runs out.

[MaineLinePhilly]

32. It is locked thank you!!!

Its the only one that has ammo in it, but it is a night stand that I lock. I don't know what kind of kids other people have but I don't have nosey family members who are snooping in bedrooms that don't belong to them. The young kids in my family know where places are off limits and they are kept an eye on enough to avoid something like that. Its not luck. Its called parenting.

[Walk away]

34. That right! because no kid ever surprised their parents with their behaviour!

Or managed to get into a locked drawer. Mrs Lanza never saw it coming. Parenting and guns don't mix well.

[IveWornAHundredPants]

35. You lock up your gun?

What if you need to get to it quickly, for example in the case of a dark shape appearing at your bedroom doorway?

[LanternWaste]

37. I imagine most parents believe that of that themselves.

"I don't have nosey (sic) family members who are snooping in bedrooms that don't belong to them..."

I imagine most parents believe that of that themselves. I'd imagine the parents referenced in the OP that that very thing... until of course, they didn't.

[gollygee]

43. My kids aren't nosy

but I wouldn't bet their lives on them never nosing around.

[MineralMan]

44. OK. You have a locking nightstand.

Where is the key? If it's hidden, it's going to take you considerable time to find it to unlock your nightstand, if you need the gun to "defend your home." In all probability, the key is hanging from the lock, right?

And your youthful family members never go into your bedroom, right? Not even when playing hide-and-seek?

So, either your handgun is pretty useless for the reason you have it or it is not really secured at all. Which is it?

[MaineLinePhilly]

47. You can criticize and make fun all you want

I really could care less since no one is up in my home but me. I have a security system in my house so if the alarm is set off I have plenty of time to get to the night stand key that is on my car key set (which is always where I am) or the spare that is taped behind my bed and out of view. Sure I'm sure many of these families have the "I never thought it could happen to me" mentality and the numbers certainly do not lie about increased risk of accidental shooting with a gun in the home. However, don't lump me in with the "if you r a gun owner you r not responsible" or whatever other criticism people want to render. I'm as secure as one needs to be to prevent a tragedy from happening. Is it 100% foolproof??! Well no shit Sherlock it isn't. What is?

[ellisonz]

48. "or the spare that is taped behind my bed and out of view."

Real secure, real secure.

[maxsolomon]

51. So the scenario you keep a loaded weapon next to your bed is this?

You're sleeping. The security alarm is set. It goes off. It's not your kid, or your pet, but an intruder not intending merely to rob, but to assault. The intruder keeps coming into the house, despite the blaring alarms and the security provider calling the police. Upon hearing the alarm, you wake up, unlock the drawer and fetch your pistol. You defend yourself.

Are you a drug dealer? do you live in Somalia? Is this common in your neighborhood?

[MaineLinePhilly]

56. No the scenario is this....

I live in quite a nice area of town but am not a fool to think that crime doesn't happen in nice areas at some point. I entertain a lot and have various people in and out of my home for work related matters. Then there are those who are hired to come in and out of the home. You see these stories on TV all the time about some crazy or greedy person breaking into a house where they have worked to steal something. When my security alarm goes off I feel more secure that I do have a gun in my hand and can defend myself. It doesn't mean I will use it, but I can if I need to. I would think there would be no worse feeling than having your alarm go off and be defenseless wondering what the heck is going on. I can see both sides of the spectrum on this gun debate. I just wish people wouldn't always be so god damned condescending because there is disagreement with a view point. You stay in your gun-less house and I'll stay in mine.

[maxsolomon]

57. As long as the bullets stay there, too.

I think you overestimate the danger you are in. Home invasions are typically motivated by theft, and alarms are effective deterrents. Can you link me to 1 of these stories you see "all the time"?

If you think I'm god-damned condescending, alert on me, 59 posts. You haven't been here long enough to get on a high horse.

[MaineLinePhilly]

58. I never said I was on a high horse

Those are your words. All I simply said is I can see both points of view on this particular issue, something I see is lacking from many around here.

[rightsideout]

52. Wow! An alarm system and a loaded gun in the nightstand

It's nice being Free isn't it?

[Bandit]

33. I would bet this family never had this happen to them either...until it did...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

40. Obviously, we should arm 6 year olds to protect themselves from 13 year olds.

[AngryAmish]

41. I would probably have some criticiism myself if my brother shot me...

[0rganism]

45. the best way to stop a bad 13-year-old with a gun is...

... a good 13-year-old with a gun?
... a 6-year-old with a gun?
... responsible parents with a high-quality gun safe?

who can say? it's a mystery to everyone, apparently.

[KamaAina]

49. Remember, guns don't kill people,

teenagers kill people.

[SoCalMusicLover]

53. This Stuff Will Happen

So long as it was one of the gun owner's own that got shot, who should care?

Gun owners gotta have their guns. It's in the constitution, don't ya know.

Have your guns.....heck, have a whole house full of them. So long as it doesn't impact me and my loved ones, have a ball.

After seeing all the tragedies, and yet there is still no prospect of any changes, it's time to accept the inevitable.

Gun lovers seem to like comparing it to stuff like swimming deaths. Well guess what, we have swimming pools, we're going to have swimming deaths. There are more firearms in existence than anybody can possibly know, count or keep track of, so it stands to reason that people will die by accident from time to time.

If seeing 20 children and their teachers mowed down, with no changes, it's obvious that nothing will be bad enough to make them stop and think.