5-year-old Kentucky boy fatally shoots 2-year-old sister

[JMJSHJ]

You got part of that statement right.

Which part would that be?

 

[TimeEntrance]

I am extremely pro-gun and I see nothing wrong with teaching young people how to safely shoot a rifle. But I would at least wait until the child was 8-10 years old before trusting them with a firearm. I got my first bb gun at 9 years old, and was only allowed to shoot a real firearm while my dad was around.
I do not think charges should be filed though. These parents are grieving enough over the fact that their son shot and killed their baby daughter. Going to prison isn’t going to bring that girl back and this is the worst possible time to split this family apart with prison sentences. This family is already torn apart enough.

Just out of curiosity–you sound like you may come from a rural area–would you be as sympathetic towards a young mother that leaves her small children home alone while she goes to work, and the house catches fire and kills the children?

Or would you be more judgmental with respect to the young mother living in an urban or urban, industrial suburb?

Case example: todaystmj4.com/news/local/203282081.html

I agree with you this family in Kentucky are grieving and likely feel great guilt. That guilt is probably a hell and life sentence itself.

I think people that are products of urban environments will more likely be more judgmental and have harsh opinions about these Kentucky parents that gave their son a .22 caliber rifle, training him to shoot with it.

I’m not sure I have a hard and solid opinion on the practice. It’s very foreign to me because I was reared utterly urban and never went hunting a single day in my life. My father was a Federal agent, so, he used to come home with his service weapon. But I hazard a guess he kept in locked away. He never taught us to shoot or showed us his gun. The first time I ever shot a rifle and pistol was in the military.

Rural life can be different. Judging from the movie Winter’s Bone-- wintersbonemovie.com/–rural people can be reared to have a self sufficiency for food and resources many of us in the cities weren’t reared with traits for. So, I really don’t know what to think about this. Especially since the kid retrieved the rifle himself with out parental consent.

 

[TimeEntrance]

This news article says children with guns is normal in rural Kentucky and rural United States.

Full story: news.yahoo.com/ky-child-shooting-part-urban-rural-gun-debate-085327467.html

BURKESVILLE, Ky. (AP) — As Stephanie Sparks cleaned the kitchen, her 5-year-old son, Kristian, began playing with a rifle he was given last year. She stepped out onto the front porch, poured grease out of a frying pan for the dogs and “heard the gun go off,” a Kentucky coroner said.

Authorities said the boy had fatally shot his 2-year-old sister, Caroline, in the chest.

In rural southern Kentucky, far removed from the national debate over gun control, where some children get their first guns even before they start first grade, the accident stunned the community.

Kristian’s rifle was kept in a corner of the mobile home, and the family didn’t realize a bullet had been left in it, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said.

“Down in Kentucky where we’re from, you know, guns are passed down from generation to generation,” White said. “You start at a young age with guns for hunting and everything.”

What is more unusual than a child having a gun, he said, is “that a kid would get shot with it.”

In this case, the rifle was made by a company that sells guns specifically for children — “My first rifle” is the slogan — in colors ranging from plain brown to hot pink to royal blue to multi-color swirls.

“It’s a normal way of life, and it’s not just rural Kentucky, it’s rural America — hunting and shooting and sport fishing. It starts at an early age,” Cumberland County Judge Executive John Phelps said. “There’s probably not a household in this county that doesn’t have a gun.”

In Cumberland County, as elsewhere in Kentucky, local newspapers feature photos of children proudly displaying their kills, including turkey and deer. Even one of the latest reality shows on CMT, “Guntucky,” features a family-owned gun range in Kentucky. The range, Knob Creek, says on its website that it is as a safe place for youngsters to learn about firearms and offers family memberships.

 

[7armyrugrats]

Just out of curiosity–you sound like you may come from a rural area–would you be as sympathetic towards a young mother that leaves her small children home alone while she goes to work, and the house catches fire and kills the children?

Or would you be more judgmental with respect to the young mother living in an urban or urban, industrial suburb?

Case example: todaystmj4.com/news/local/203282081.html

I agree with you this family in Kentucky are grieving and likely feel great guilt. That guilt is probably a hell and life sentence itself.

I think people that are products of urban environments will more likely be more judgmental and have harsh opinions about these Kentucky parents that gave their son a .22 caliber rifle, training him to shoot with it.

I’m not sure I have a hard and solid opinion on the practice. It’s very foreign to me because I was reared utterly urban and never went hunting a single day in my life. My father was a Federal agent, so, he used to come home with his service weapon. But I hazard a guess he kept in locked away. He never taught us to shoot or showed us his gun. The first time I ever shot a rifle and pistol was in the military.

Rural life can be different. Judging from the movie Winter’s Bone-- wintersbonemovie.com/–rural people can be reared to have a self sufficiency for food and resources many of us in the cities weren’t reared with traits for. So, I really don’t know what to think about this. Especially since the kid retrieved the rifle himself with out parental consent.

I think that you hit the mark when you state that life in rural America is very different than it is in urban areas. It is so hard to comprehend something that you don’t experience on a daily basis. I feel horrible for the poor Mom in the article you linked to. I did see a differences in the article though. This Mom had been punished before for the same behavior. She was in a habit of leaving her children for hours at a time, even to just go shopping. She had been told it isn’t allowed, and continued doing it. She didn’t step outside for a few minutes to feed her dog like in the KY incident. My heart still breaks for her, and I am so sorry life was hard enough that she felt that she had no other options.

This news article says children with guns is normal in rural Kentucky and rural United States.

Full story: news.yahoo.com/ky-child-shooting-part-urban-rural-gun-debate-085327467.html

This is what I was trying to make clear in the beginning. It is so common that I don’t let my kids go to other people’s houses unless I know how they keep their guns. I just assume that their house has at least one. I have family in the mountains in Eastern KY, and even though I grew up in the country, I didn’t know RURAL until I visited them. It is a different life even for those of us who live in farming areas. Guns are not an accessory to them, it is a necessary tool that is used in daily life. Hunting isn’t a sport to them, it is a big part of how they feed their families. People so rarely hear of anybody being injured by a gun, something they use frequently, that it is nearly unimaginable to them. Car wrecks are more feared, especially in the mountains where they frequently occur against coal trucks. Everyone knows someone who was killed or disabled in a car wreck. Very few know anyone hurt by a gun. I realize in urban areas guns are used only during crimes. It just isn’t that way here.

 

[estesbob]

First of all, I didn’t call anyone on this board idiots, I called the parents idiots.

Secondly, the implication I took from your comment that I was questioning the need people may have for guns in general. To me this is a different issue from a five year old having their own gun.

Lastly, we are not talking about poor parenting, we are talking about criminally negligent homicide.

No were not-we are talking about a tragic accident where your solution is to take the 5 year olds mother away. I am curious as to how many children you have?

 

[pnewton]

No were not-we are talking about a tragic accident where your solution is to take the 5 year olds mother away. I am curious as to how many children you have?

Negligent homicide is not opposed to there being an accident. A drunk that kills someone still does so accidentally.

 

[estesbob]

Negligent homicide is not opposed to there being an accident. A drunk that kills someone still does so accidentally.

So are you suggesting this mother be charged or as some others have indicated her child taken away from her???

 

[Samson01]

This is what I was trying to make clear in the beginning. It is so common that I don’t let my kids go to other people’s houses unless I know how they keep their guns. I just assume that their house has at least one. I have family in the mountains in Eastern KY, and even though I grew up in the country, I didn’t know RURAL until I visited them. It is a different life even for those of us who live in farming areas. Guns are not an accessory to them, it is a necessary tool that is used in daily life. Hunting isn’t a sport to them, it is a big part of how they feed their families. People so rarely hear of anybody being injured by a gun, something they use frequently, that it is nearly unimaginable to them. Car wrecks are more feared, especially in the mountains where they frequently occur against coal trucks. Everyone knows someone who was killed or disabled in a car wreck. Very few know anyone hurt by a gun. I realize in urban areas guns are used only during crimes. It just isn’t that way here.

This is very true. I’ve tried to explain this to others in this fora with out success. It is a totally different world in the woods. I’ve seen quite a few folks move up here full time only to leave after one winter. Most don’t understand primitive living when things get rough. It is just the way things are.

 

[pnewton]

So are you suggesting this mother be charged or as some others have indicated her child taken away from her???

Possibly, at least it is possible she should be charged. What I** am** saying is that a tragic result (the accident) does not preclude criminal negligence, letting a 5 year old have a cocked, loaded gun. I have never said that having her child removed is best. That would involve an investigation of all the facts. I have also said that I do not believe incarceration best serves the interest of justice in this case, if it is only a matter of negligence. However, any felony conviction on this would prevent her from owning a gun, which would seem to be a good idea.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

No were not-we are talking about a tragic accident where your solution is to take the 5 year olds mother away. I am curious as to how many children you have?

I have two. A three year old and a one year old.

It was a tragic accident from the five year olds perspective, it was negligent homicide from the parents perspective. They had a duty to their children to keep them safe and they failed that duty miserably.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

Negligent homicide is not opposed to there being an accident. A drunk that kills someone still does so accidentally.

 

[estesbob]

I have two. A three year old and a one year old.

It was a tragic accident from the five year olds perspective, it was negligent homicide from the parents perspective. They had a duty to their children to keep them safe and they failed that duty miserably.

It appears no charges are going to be filed-as it should be. The last thing this 5 year old needs is his mother being drug though court or find himself living in a foster home.
My three year old wandered off one time -if she had fallen into the nearby creek before we found her should i have been charged ? I hope you are one of those rare parents who never has their kid slip off when they are not looking.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

It appears no charges are going to be filed-as it should be. The last thing this 5 year old needs is his mother being drug though court or find himself living in a foster home.
My three year old wandered off one time -if she had fallen into the nearby creek before we found her should i have been charged ? I hope you are one of those rare parents who never has their kid slip off when they are not looking.

Not a valid comparison at all. I will assume that you had taken proper precautions, and left your child in an area that she should have been safe. These parents left a loaded gun where a child could get it and shoot another child. They did not take ANY precautions, let alone proper ones.

 

[estesbob]

Not a valid comparison at all. I will assume that you had taken proper precautions, and left your child in an area that she should have been safe. These parents left a loaded gun where a child could get it and shoot another child. They did not take ANY precautions, let alone proper ones.

They thought it was unloaded-i thought the gate was shut. These parents are suffering enough.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

They thought it was unloaded-i thought the gate was shut. These parents are suffering enough.

Having it unloaded is not a sufficient precaution. Locking it away and treating all firearms as loaded is a reasonable precaution.

 

[JMJSHJ]

They thought it was unloaded-i thought the gate was shut. These parents are suffering enough.

Estesbob, I have always respected your posts but I have to disagree here. You don’t just think that the gun is unloaded, YOU KNOW that it is.

As for suffering enough, let me ask you this, if a drunk killed another person while driving and the drunk is a single parent of young children, should he go to jail?

 

[estesbob]

Estesbob, I have always respected your posts but I have to disagree here. You don’t just think that the gun is unloaded, YOU KNOW that it is.

As for suffering enough, let me ask you this, if a drunk killed another person while driving and the drunk is a single parent of young children, should he go to jail?

We are not talking about someone who got drunk. We are talking about a tragedy that will haunt the parents and the child for the rest of their lives. why are so many people intent on squeezing even more misery out of these people?

 

[JMJSHJ]

We are not talking about someone who got drunk. We are talking about a tragedy that will haunt the parents and the child for the rest of their lives. why are so many people intent on squeezing even more misery out of these people?

I used drunkenness as an example because most drunk drivers don’t intend to kill other people but can. Perhaps its a bad example.

Nothing we do can change the past, but if we are to prevent future tragedies like this then we need to make sure that parents who have loaded guns are kept out of young children’s hands. If we don’t punish in some form then it could continue. That is unacceptable.

 

[MaryT777]

I have mixed feelings on punishment as I agree it is punishment enough to live with this death of a child. I do see however until some sort of consequences are made that persons will continue to be lax with their guns.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

I used drunkenness as an example because most drunk drivers don’t intend to kill other people but can. Perhaps its a bad example.

Nothing we do can change the past, but if we are to prevent future tragedies like this then we need to make sure that parents who have loaded guns are kept out of young children’s hands. If we don’t punish in some form then it could continue. That is unacceptable.

I think that it is a very good example. Someone that gets drunk and drives made a bad decision and could cause an accident resulting in death. They have to deal with the consequences of that decision, the consequence being a charge of vehicular homicide or negligent homicide.

These parents made a bad decision that caused the death of a child. They should have to deal with the consequences which in this case should be, but it appears will not be, a charge of negligent homicide.