5-year-old Shoots Himself In The Face With A Shotgun During Unsupervised Texas Hunting Trip

[Judi Lynn]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Rhiannon12866 (a host of the General Discussion forum).

5-year-old Shoots Himself In The Face With A Shotgun During Unsupervised Texas Hunting Trip
By David September 7, 2014 1:11 pm

A 5-year-old boy in Texas is in critical condition after he reportedly shot himself in the face with a shotgun while hunting with his 11-year-old brother.

A 5-year-old boy in Texas is in critical condition after he reportedly shot himself in the face with a shotgun while hunting with his 11-year-old brother.

A Harris County resident who identified himself to KHOU has "Mr. Fred" recalled that the 11-year-old drove to his house in a panic on Friday afternoon.

"I was sitting on the porch, car comes flying in here," Mr. Fred explained. "He said his brother shot himself."

According to Mr. Fred, the 11-year-old boy had laid the gun down after the two boys had been out hunting. But the 5-year-old boy later went back to retrieve the gun.

The 11 year old heard a gunshot, and found the younger brother shot in the chin. He put the boy in the car and drove to a neighbor's house for assistance.

More:
http://crooksandliars.com/2014/09/5-year-old-shoots-himself-face-shotgun

[Tom Ripley]

1. At least he was hunting with a responsible adult

I'm sure 11 year olds are considered to be adults...somewhere...some time...right?
What the fuck is wrong with some people?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

3. In Texas it is....

I'm sure we'll hear from one of the good ol' boys soon talking about shootin' squirrels with their little brother and drivin' the family truck while swiggin' moonshine when they were 10 and yadda yadda

[Tom Ripley]

5. You can bet on it

[riverwalker]

2. 11 year old drove the car?

jeezus

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Farm kids learn how to operate vehicles early

[NYC_SKP]

9. Have a heart, the driving was to seek help for the younger boy. Sheesh.

A Harris County resident who identified himself to KHOU has "Mr. Fred" recalled that the 11-year-old drove to his house in a panic on Friday afternoon.

"I was sitting on the porch, car comes flying in here," Mr. Fred explained. "He said his brother shot himself."

As indicated in another reply, farm kids learn early. We had a WW2 jeep I learned to drive on before age 10, with supervision. 4 speed with clutch.

[LisaL]

14. Where was his supervision? He is 11.

Police is investigating why he had access to a car at 11.

[NYC_SKP]

16. The shotgun is the real problem here, not the car.

The car was used under extreme circumstances.

Supervision is obviously a problem with the adults in this household, but my concern isn't about the car.

Under emergency conditions, I would expect a youngster might do something like this.

Where the hell were the adults all this time?

[Drahthaardogs]

15. Most ranch kids can drive by 12.

Not uncommon

[tularetom]

19. I drove a tractor on the county road when I was 11

But I never got to go hunting without an adult present until I was 16.

[beam me up scottie]

4. Who lets a 5 year old use a shotgun?

With an 11 year old to supervise?

Harris County Sheriff's deputies were investigating why the boys had access to guns and a car while their father was at work.

I'd like to know that too.

[Tom Ripley]

7. I believe the correct answer is "a dumbass"

[beam me up scottie]

10. Hopefully one that won't be attending their 5 year old son's funeral.

Wanna bet he'll blame it on the 11 year old?

[shenmue]

18. You are correct, sir

[NYC_SKP]

8. I hope he survives. Parents need to be charged. An 11 year old can not provide supervision.

And five years old is too young for anything more powerful than a dart gun, and even that's kind of dangerous.

Prayers and vibes for the recovery of the injured child.

[mokawanis]

11. My granddaughter turned 7 yesterday

There's zero chance her parents would let her hold a loaded gun, or an unloaded one for that matter. Putting a shotgun in the hands of a 5 y.o., with no adult supervision, is nuts.

[Rex]

12. Poor kid I hope he survives.

That being said, it is a fact that children and lethal firearms make for a very dangerous situation. Double so if there are no 'responsible gun owners' around.

[indie9197]

20. wtf

you heartless soul

[Lonusca]

17. Can a 5 year old do this?

Is this even physically possible? I have no idea about gun sizes but that seems like a stretch

[NYC_SKP]

21. A crappy old shotgun can discharge from just being jarred or dropped.

Being shot in the chin, heaven only knows what the position of the gun and child were, and doubtful that we'll ever know for sure.

Even if the poor child survives, will they remember, will they be able to articulate what happened if they do remember?

My best guess is that they were dragging it along by the business end of the barrel, maybe the stock hit a rock and it went off.

[4b5f940728b232b034e4]

22. This!

A shotgun's barrel is legally required to be 18" long. I just looked it up. So, it sounds like he was hunting with an illegally short shotgun.

[Rhiannon12866]

23. Locking, sorry, but this is a local gun story and belongs in one of the DU gun related groups

Thanks for your understanding.