[Ammi]

..so again really, just too, too often that these tragedies are happening...

A three year old boy in Chicago has died after he was accidentally shot in the head by his six-year-older brother, police have said.


Chicago police said the toddler was shot around 9:05pm on Saturday and carried to a hospital by a relative. He was later pronounced dead at a different hospital.

The father of the two boys has been charged with felony child endangerment. According to police, he had knowingly stored the loaded gun on top of a refrigerator where his children were able to access the weapon.

The father is due to appear on bond court on Sunday.

Research by the Washington Post released in October showed there have been 43 instances of a person being shot by a toddler aged three or younger in the US this year alone – 31 of which resulted in the toddler shooting him or herself.

Averaging at one shooting a week, 13 of the 43 self-inflicted injuries were fatal, and two shootings resulted in the death of other people.




http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/...IW&ocid=LENDHP

[Ammi]

http://news.sky.com/story/1571864/bo...d-robbers-game

[arista]

Yes Tragic Mess

[lostalex]

imagine the guilt the 6 y/o will carry for all of his life. and the resentment his parents will have towards him. so awful.

[Ammi]

..he's also going to 'lose' a parent for some part of his life as well if his father's charges results in a prison sentence../sad but so, so irresponsible...

[Northern Monkey]

They need to stop letting morons own guns.Who would leave a loaded gun out where there are kids around?There needs to be some kind of IQ test given before licences are handed out.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by lostalex

imagine the guilt the 6 y/o will carry for all of his life. and the resentment his parents will have towards him. so awful.

The resentment the parents will feel towards him? It's their fault for having a loaded gun within reach of two young children :/

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

The resentment the parents will feel towards him? It's their fault for having a loaded gun within reach of two young children :/

Indeed. It's more the resentment that HE will have towards his parents for allowing something so awful to happen to both him and his brother. They both completely failed their children. I personally feel that the mother has a share of the guilt as it seems unlikely that she didn't know that A) there was a gun around and B) that the father was undisciplined with his gun safety.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Indeed. It's more the resentment that HE will have towards his parents for allowing something so awful to happen to both him and his brother. They both completely failed their children. I personally feel that the mother has a share of the guilt as it seems unlikely that she didn't know that A) there was a gun around and B) that the father was undisciplined with his gun safety.

Absolutely.

[Tom4784]

This happens far too much, I'm glad the dad is facing charges but there needs to be some legislation on gun safety and how to store them properly, real gun control will never be an option in America but they can at least create a law stating that gun owners must keep their guns locked away safely and out of reach of children.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

This happens far too much, I'm glad the dad is facing charges but there needs to be some legislation on gun safety and how to store them properly, real gun control will never be an option in America but they can at least create a law stating that gun owners must keep their guns locked away safely and out of reach of children.

Life In America


Feel The Force

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Indeed. It's more the resentment that HE will have towards his parents for allowing something so awful to happen to both him and his brother. They both completely failed their children. I personally feel that the mother has a share of the guilt as it seems unlikely that she didn't know that A) there was a gun around and B) that the father was undisciplined with his gun safety.

..I don't know all of the details obviously but it may be that the only reason that the father was arrested is because the gun was obtained illegally and he brought it into the house...that might be what he's being charged for/possession of an illegal weapon...

[Nedusa]

Surely it's about time guns were made safer with childproof safety locks or fingerprint recognition built into all guns so only the owner can fire it.

I mean we have fingerprint technology on i-phones so why not on firearms surely that is where they are needed more ?

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

Surely it's about time guns were made safer with childproof safety locks or fingerprint recognition built into all guns so only the owner can fire it.

I mean we have fingerprint technology on i-phones so why not on firearms surely that is where they are needed more ?

Being blunt nedusa, the sorts of people who are leaving guns lying within reach of kids don't have state of the art, factory fresh guns (which cost thousands)...

Half of the guns floating around in civilian hands in the US are 50+ years old.

[Livia]

There would be no need for fingerprint recognition and other expensive safeguards if people would only keep their gun unloaded and locked away. They need spot checks on everyone with a gun licence and if their guns aren't properly stored the person's licence should be taken away.

[Iceman]

Sadly another gun tragedy in America. The poor little toddler.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

Surely it's about time guns were made safer with childproof safety locks or fingerprint recognition built into all guns so only the owner can fire it.

I mean we have fingerprint technology on i-phones so why not on firearms surely that is where they are needed more ?

I think this is a brilliant idea which should not be dismissed so readily and is worthy of 'official' examination because of its obvious potential for assisting in crime detection, homicides etc. but in these type of increasingly familiar incidents, I think that all that is really needed - as Paul has already suggested - is some type of 'Idiot Test' given to applicant gun owners, and the proof of a serviceable locking gun cabinet as one mandatory condition of being granted a licence.

Once a licence has been granted, random but frequent follow up inspections by the relevant authorities should be carried out, with draconian prison sentences handed out to ANYONE in posession of a firearm which is not safely locked away in a cabinet.

The sentence should be more severe for transgressors who have chidren.

If having children is not INCENTIVE enough to ensure that guns are safely stored, then the culpable deserve real punishment.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

There would be no need for fingerprint recognition and other expensive safeguards if people would only keep their gun unloaded and locked away. They need spot checks on everyone with a gun licence and if their guns aren't properly stored the person's licence should be taken away.

Well... I've just encountered a ludicrous statistic: apparently there are 112 firearms per 100 people in the US. Which is absolutely crazy but apparently it is the case. The logistics of carrying out any sort of meaningful spot-checks across the country would just not be affordable... it would just be a threat, that would carry a very small risk of any actual consequences. A bit like TV licensing here, I suppose... you can declare that you don't need one and if you don't have one they SAY that there's a chance of your home being checked. In reality, the likelihood of someone actually knocking on your door is tiny. And that's on a much smaller scale than US gun ownership...

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

I think this is a brilliant idea which should not be dismissed so readily and is worthy of 'official' examination because of its obvious potential for assisting in crime detection, homicides etc. but in these type of increasingly familiar incidents, I think that all that is really needed - as Paul has already suggested - is some type of 'Idiot Test' given to applicant gun owners, and the proof of a serviceable locking gun cabinet as one mandatory condition of being granted a licence.

Once a licence has been granted, random but frequent follow up inspections by the relevant authorities should be carried out, with draconian prison sentences handed out to ANYONE in posession of a firearm which is not safely locked away in a cabinet.

The sentence should be more severe for transgressors who have chidren.

If having children is not INCENTIVE enough to ensure that guns are safely stored, then the culpable deserve real punishment.

Yeah i'm all for an Americans second amendment right to bear arms but only if some kind of psych plus IQ test is carried out in order to obtain a license.

Edit:This should be re-evaluated every 6-8 years too imo.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Northern Monkey

Yeah i'm all for an Americans second amendment right to bear arms but only if some kind of psych plus IQ test is carried out in order to obtain a license.

Edit:This should be re-evaluated every 6-8 years too imo.

Dunno about the IQ test, most of the kids who go bat**** and decide to go on a rampage actually have fairly high IQs.

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Dunno about the IQ test, most of the kids who go bat**** and decide to go on a rampage actually have fairly high IQs.

Yeah but somebody who is going to leave a loaded gun on top of a fridge with kids in the house imo is a dumb mother****er.Imo

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Northern Monkey

Yeah but somebody who is going to leave a loaded gun on top of a fridge with kids in the house imo is a dumb mother****er.Imo

Yeah and I'd assume that this kind of occurrence is more common then the crazy lone shooter incidences