[arista]

[A two-year-old boy has accidentally shot dead his mother at a Walmart store after a gun fired when he reached in her purse.

The shooting in Hayden, Idaho, about 40 miles (64km) northeast of Spokane, Washington, took place in the back of the store near the electronics department.

"Prelim investigation shows shooting was accidental," Kootenai County sheriff's spokesman Lieutenant Stu Miller posted on Twitter.

Authorities were unsure at first whether the toddler was the woman's son.]

http://news.sky.com/story/1399907/tw...her-at-walmart

How very tragic.
Typical in America , though

[armand.kay]

Omg poor kid, he is gonna have to live with this for the rest of his life
Why on earth did she think she needed a gun on a shopping trip? America seriously need stricter gun laws.

[Northern Monkey]

My god,That's crazy.

[lostalex]

well maybe now when mothers bring their toddlers to the store and they want candy, they will listen.

[Samm]

omg this is shocking

The USA seriously needs to just have the same gun laws as us here, I can't count how many threads I've seen on here with the similar story

[user104658]

My immediate reaction was "thank **** he shot the idiot that brought a gun in her purse, and not HIMSELF". Might sound harsh but... yeah. This could have ended MUCH more tragically.

[Redway]

Shocking news. The USA definitely does need stricter gun laws.

[GiRTh]

Shocking news

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

My immediate reaction was "thank **** he shot the idiot that brought a gun in her purse, and not HIMSELF". Might sound harsh but... yeah. This could have ended MUCH more tragically.

He's still going to have to live with the knowledge that he was the one who killed his mother (obviously not his fault but still a horrible thing to have to live with)

[arista]

Originally Posted by Redway

Shocking news. The USA definitely does need stricter gun laws.

Or if kept in hand bag
its got a stud lock
around it
that a kid could not open


its very legal for for her to carry it every place she goes
thats America.

[Redway]

Originally Posted by arista

Or if kept in hand bag
its got a stud lock
around it
that a kid could not open


its very legal for for her to carry it every place she goes
thats America.

Which is precisely what the issue is if you ask me.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Tragic accident. WHy was the safety not on?

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Scrooge

Tragic accident. WHy was the safety not on?

It was probably a revolver, they don't have safety catches.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Livia

It was probably a revolver, they don't have safety catches.

They have hammer blocks, well some do.

if you have a gun you should have a holster for it, end of

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Scrooge

They have hammer blocks, well some do.

if you have a gun you should have a holster for it, end of

Some have hammer blocks to stop it going off if you drop it, it's not the same thing as a safety.

Totally agree about the holster. The irresponsibility of having it floating around in your handbag is mindboggling.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Livia

Some have hammer blocks to stop it going off if you drop it, it's not the same thing as a safety.

Totally agree about the holster. The irresponsibility of having it floating around in your handbag is mindboggling.

I mean you could fecking shoot someone going for your lippy?

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

It was probably a revolver, they don't have safety catches.

I can't see a two year old having the strength in their hand to pull the trigger on a revolver... it's actually very hard to do by accident. For a toddler to have pulled the trigger, it's very likely that the gun was a small semi specifically designed for females who are not regular users of firearms, as the triggers are much easier to pull... which is why I completely agree with the above - having one kicking around in a bag, loaded, is madness. You could throw your car keys into your bag and shoot yourself in the face.

Seems more likely that either the safety wasn't properly engaged, or the toddler somehow took it off, but then if that was the case he would have to have been fiddling around with it for a while without her noticing!

Originally Posted by ChristmasNeeve

He's still going to have to live with the knowledge that he was the one who killed his mother (obviously not his fault but still a horrible thing to have to live with)

If I was the person now responsible for him, I think I'd probably try to make sure they didn't find out until adulthood when they would be more likely to be able to appreciate that it wasn't in any way their fault. A child would find that hard to understand. At just 2, he thankfully won't realise what happened, or remember it himself.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I can't see a two year old having the strength in their hand to pull the trigger on a revolver... it's actually very hard to do by accident. For a toddler to have pulled the trigger, it's very likely that the gun was a small semi specifically designed for females who are not regular users of firearms, as the triggers are much easier to pull... which is why I completely agree with the above - having one kicking around in a bag, loaded, is madness. You could throw your car keys into your bag and shoot yourself in the face.

It completely depends on the spring in the revolver, you can get anything from a 1 to a 9lb pull. It's just as likely that she might have had a revolver with a light pull spring. If it was an auto it should have had the safety on, if it was a revolver it should have been on an empty chamber and in either case, it should have been holstered, as we all agree.

[Kizzy]

I don't see the need to carry a gun whilst doing your shopping with your baby at all :/

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by ArchAngel

I don't see the need to carry a gun whilst doing your shopping with your baby at all :/

It's crazy to us, but in some cultures it's second nature. I would personally not go out of doors without a gun if I lived in a lot of countries in the world, and as this occurred in America, I think the issue is not that she did carry a gun, but the manner in which she carried it.

As a lot already commented, if it had been holstered then this tragedy would probably never have happened.

I think that it's a double lesson to to all gun owning parents of young children really, that both guns and young children need handling with the utmost responsibility at all times. A gun bought for 'defensive' purposes becomes an offensive weapon in the wrong hands, and because young children are ignorant and unpredictable, theirs will always qualify as 'the wrong hands'.

Totally tragic, but totally avoidable.

[Ammi]

..I also don't get keeping it in her bag at all because if she was attacked/if it was for self defence then she wouldn't have time to rummage around in her bag for it...if she was mugged then her bag would be the thing taken..?..doesn't make sense...

[armand.kay]

If Americans want to walk around with guns they should be forced to wear gun belts tbh.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..I also don't get keeping it in her bag at all because if she was attacked/if it was for self defence then she wouldn't have time to rummage around in her bag for it...if she was mugged then her bag would be the thing taken..?..doesn't make sense...

Well pointed out Ammi - I didn't think of those two excellent and very thought-provoking points.

Thinking about it now you have pointed it out - her bag would be the first thing taken, and along with it her gun.

I agree that it doesn't make sense.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Livia

It completely depends on the spring in the revolver, you can get anything from a 1 to a 9lb pull. It's just as likely that she might have had a revolver with a light pull spring. If it was an auto it should have had the safety on, if it was a revolver it should have been on an empty chamber and in either case, it should have been holstered, as we all agree.

Who are you Liv?... I mean really who are you? I suspect we have some kind of secret kick-ass super hero bitch in our midst like Milla Jovovich in 'Resident Evil'.

[Nedusa]

At least this child didn't kill another innocent child, sometimes it's not pretty when the gene pool is cleaned out.

Another Darwin Award ? .... Well maybe




.