kids and guns - yet again ☹
Tue Nov 17 10:28:56 EST 2015
Another news story about a toddler shooting himself, with links to more stories.South Carolina Boy, 3, Fatally Shoots Himself
A 3-year-old South Carolina boy shot himself to death in his mother's bedroom on Sunday afternoon, police said Monday. Savion Barrow was at home in Rock Hill, S.C., when he fired the semi-automatic handgun at himself....
A semi-automatic handgun within reach of a 3-year-old?Barrow's mother, who was not identified, told police that she was in the bedroom watching television when she heard the gunshot.
So Mom could have been shot too.... detectives were still trying to determine where the gun had been and how the boy got it. The boy's father was not home at the time, and his 10-year-old sister was in another part of the house.
This is the second time in a little over a month that a Rock Hill toddler has pulled the trigger of a handgun.
Oct 13 2015
South Carolina 2-Year-Old Shoots Grandmother in Back With Revolver
A 2-year-old accidentally shot his grandmother with a revolver in South Carolina on Sunday after finding the weapon in the back seat of his great-aunt's car, police said. The 40-year-old grandmother, who has not been identified, is expected to recover.... The woman was shot in the back by the toddler while sitting in the passenger seat of her sister's car, police said. The toddler had found the .357 magnum revolver in a pouch behind the passenger seat.
That's a pretty big handgun.The grandmother's sister, who is the registered owner of the car and the gun, was driving at the time of the shooting. The gun owner told NBC affiliate WCNC that she realizes she made a "mistake" by not removing the gun from the car. "I own a gun, I live alone, travel alone, I am vulnerable; that's why I have my weapon in an accessible position. I have a two-door car - I don't carry children in my car, ever...."
If you never, ever carried children in your car we wouldn't be reading this news item."My sister could've died," she added.
Um, you could have died too - 2-year-olds aren't known for their aim. And then you all could have died when the car crashed, and maybe hit another car, or pedestrians, cyclists, gone through a storefront.... Or the kid could have shot someone outside the car. Just so many possibilities. One more: someone breaks into your parked car at night, finds your gun, and hides in the back seat when you return."I wasn't thinking. For those of you with children, before you get into a car ask if they have a gun. Make sure you are getting into a safe car," [the driver/gun owner] said.
I don't think those are the kinds of friends I want to have. Not people who have guns, but people who have guns and keep them so "handy" that they're a danger to themselves and those around them. (Although the people I know who do have guns tend not to be the sort I would seek as friends for other reasons - organizing their lives on unfounded beliefs rather than facts, and their consequent political alignments.)... the gun owner could possibly face charges related to gun law violations because of where the weapon was kept in the car. He added that the 2-year-old was not in a car seat....
Jayden Clay, 2, Dies After Being Shot in Face
Nov 12 2015, 11:10 am ET
A toddler was killed in Georgia on Wednesday night after being shot in the face, investigators told NBC affiliate WXIA.
The 2-year-old boy ... was in a room with his twin brother when the gun went off.... The boys' mother was in the kitchen at the time of the shooting....
Detroit boy, 9, mourned after shooting
3:49 p.m. EST November 12, 2015
Dad charged after son apparently shoots self to death
5:18 p.m. EST November 12, 2015
Daylen died Monday after he shot himself with a shotgun [in an upstairs bedroom] Monday afternoon on the city's west side....
Christopher D. Head, 45, of Detroit was arraigned in 36th District Court in the death of Daylen Makhai Head.... "... the father possessed a loaded shotgun that was not secured and accessible to the child," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Head was charged with second-degree homicide, involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, use of a firearm in a felony, firearm possession by a felon and a "short-barrelled shotgun" firearms charge.
"The report cards for the first marking period are coming out today.... He would have had above-average grades with no absences, which is quite an accomplishment."
"An accomplishment" for Daylen (because of his family situation?), or in general? I, and many others, routinely had perfect attendance. And half the class is going to have (at or) above average grades.Head was remanded to jail Thursday morning. A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 19. A preliminary examination is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 25....
The stories mentioned crowdfunding for funeral expenses. If the father is suddenly in jail for a week or two (or likely, much longer), what happens to basic household expenses - rent/mortgage, utilities, food? Is this a just-managing, paycheck-to-paycheck family? If Dad had shot someone, sure, he belongs in jail. But if he was just stupid and irresponsible is that a reason to make his family destitute? I don't have the impression he would abscond because of this.Recent Shootings Reflect Grim Frequency of Child Gun Deaths
Nov 12 2015
Consider what happened in the first 11 days of November: a 9-year-old boy was targeted and shot dead by gang members, a 6-year-old boy was killed by police in Louisiana, a 5-year-old Ohio boy was struck by street gunfire that tore through his home, a 9-year-old boy shot himself in Detroit, and 2-year-old boy was fatally shot in the face while he played with his twin brother in Georgia.
That sample is small, but it reflects the many ways firearms kill America's youngest citizens. Many are accidental - victims of mistaken gunshots, often the result of negligence by adults who fail to keep their weapons locked away. Others are murdered, or struck by gunshots that were not intended for them. The recent cases also illustrate how frequently such tragedies unfold: just about every other day, on average. From 1999 to 2013, the most recent year for which data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is available, 2,733 children aged 11 and under were killed by firearms in some way or another. That comes down to 15 a month, or 3.5 a week.
A similar analysis by NBC News, covering the 12 months after the December 2012 killings of 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, found 173 victims under the age of 12. Eighty of the shootings were accidental. But more, 93, were intentional. A third of the 173 victims were killed by their parents, including cases of murder-suicide.... ... a stranger was rarely to blame; in most cases that did not involve a parent, the gun was fired by another child, a relative or family friend, or the victim.
... unintentional firearm deaths of children may actually be under-reported.
"We make make it incredibly easy for anybody who wants a gun to get a gun. And, we don't store them safely."
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have [laws that require parents to store guns in safe places] such measures on the books, but a new one hasn't passed in more than 10 years....
... when viewed as a portion of the part of the 33,000 firearm deaths in America in 2013, the number of victims under the age of 12 is tiny.
The patterns in homicides of children
Four patterns emerge:
There are not likely to be many gun owners reading here. I don't think any of the parents I know have guns. But it's the intersection of those two sets - parents and gun owners - that I'm addressing. If you keep a gun loaded and accessible in your home, car, or purse, you have to consider that your children (or their friends) will find it. And what happens after that is a crapshoot.
Gun-safety education for children? Seems reasonable, if you have a gun in the house. Most of us accept that kids should have sex education; we realize that the ones who are going to have sex will do so with or without education. Understanding the mechanics and the implications - sex ed - doesn't cause sexual activity. Maybe things are the same with guns, and your kid will be less likely to play with your gun if (s)he understands what the thing is designed to do and its possible consequences. (I don't know how you educate a 2-year-old, though.)
Another one came along - no one killed, but still a bad situation:Arizona Man Leaves Granddaughter Alone in Desert With Loaded Gun
An Arizona man left his 5-year-old granddaughter alone in a desert outside Phoenix with a loaded and cocked gun - so he could have "a few drinks and a cheeseburger," Maricopa County authorities said Monday. Paul Rater, 62, was charged with two counts of child abuse and one count of child endangerment after the girl's mother reported her daughter missing, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said in a release. Authorities had been searching for the girl by helicopter when her relatives told the sheriff's office she had been found "all alone, in the desert" with a loaded, cocked .45-caliber handgun, the release said.
A couple of stories about children killed by Pit Bulls. Many people defend the breed, saying the dogs can be behaved and gentle, and the aggression comes from the dogs' training and treatment. But these stories keep popping up with a gentle, sociable dog that suddenly flips out and attacks another dog or person, and cannot be deterred, even by the owner. Many other breeds will snarl, snap, or bite when startled. But they'll stop, or can be pulled off. In both these events, the dogs had no previous (reported) incidents of aggression.9-Year-Old Girl Killed by Pit Bull While Playing With Friends in Long Island Yard
Amiyah Dunston, a fourth-grade student at Plaza Elementary school, died Sunday after the dog attacked her at a friend's house. A woman inside the house rushed out and tried to pull the dog off the girl, but couldn't. Dunston had been playing with two other girls at the time of the attack; they were not harmed.
Nassau County police officers responding to the 911 call at the Holland Avenue house in Elmont found the dog attacking the girl. When one of the officers entered the yard from the house, the dog charged at the officer, who shot and killed the animal, said Detective Michael Bitsko.
There had been no previous complaints to police about the dog, Bitsko said, adding that he didn't know why the dog attacked the girl.
11-Month-Old Dies After Being Attacked by Family Pet
Police say an 11-month-old boy has died after being attacked by his family's 2-year-old pet pit bull terrier. Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol says 32-year-old Lisa Cittadino of Marshall, New York, called 911 Sunday evening reporting that the dog had attacked her son. Cittadino told deputies the dog had been playing in the living room with the baby and his three sisters, age 7 to 12, when the attack happened around 7:15 p.m.
The child was rushed by ambulance to a hospital where he died of face and neck wounds.
Cittadino told investigators the dog hadn't been aggressive before.
Off topic, but more poor judgement:Omaha Woman Bitten by Tiger After Breaking Into Zoo
An intoxicated woman was bitten by a tiger after she broke into a zoo and tried to pet the animal, police said. Jacqueline Eide, 33, reached into the predator's cage after she allegedly entered Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, early Sunday - just hours after Halloween. ... Eide suffered a "severe trauma" to her left hand.... She was driven to hospital by a friend, where police said Eide was aggressive and showed signs of intoxication by alcohol or drugs. She was cited for criminal trespass and remained at the hospital for treatment Sunday.
This is such a stupid guy thing to do. We seldom hear of women being this kind of stupid. Darwin-award stupid, except she's still in the gene pool.more news about Eide
Here is an excerpt from the post she made on Facebook. "I have lost clients due to the backlash of negative media coverage and horrible comments people have been saying, along with my criminal record being exposed. I couldn't get a peaceful hospital rest due to numerous phone calls/visits from CNN, the local media, calls from family I haven't talked to in years."
An [Omaha police] officer also revealed that she has had a long tryst with the law and that she has a three-page criminal record that include [sic] multiple charges for drunk driving, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/780169.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
Another news story about a toddler shooting himself, with links to more stories.South Carolina Boy, 3, Fatally Shoots Himself
A 3-year-old South Carolina boy shot himself to death in his mother's bedroom on Sunday afternoon, police said Monday. Savion Barrow was at home in Rock Hill, S.C., when he fired the semi-automatic handgun at himself....
A semi-automatic handgun within reach of a 3-year-old?Barrow's mother, who was not identified, told police that she was in the bedroom watching television when she heard the gunshot.
So Mom could have been shot too.... detectives were still trying to determine where the gun had been and how the boy got it. The boy's father was not home at the time, and his 10-year-old sister was in another part of the house.
This is the second time in a little over a month that a Rock Hill toddler has pulled the trigger of a handgun.
Oct 13 2015
South Carolina 2-Year-Old Shoots Grandmother in Back With Revolver
A 2-year-old accidentally shot his grandmother with a revolver in South Carolina on Sunday after finding the weapon in the back seat of his great-aunt's car, police said. The 40-year-old grandmother, who has not been identified, is expected to recover.... The woman was shot in the back by the toddler while sitting in the passenger seat of her sister's car, police said. The toddler had found the .357 magnum revolver in a pouch behind the passenger seat.
That's a pretty big handgun.The grandmother's sister, who is the registered owner of the car and the gun, was driving at the time of the shooting. The gun owner told NBC affiliate WCNC that she realizes she made a "mistake" by not removing the gun from the car. "I own a gun, I live alone, travel alone, I am vulnerable; that's why I have my weapon in an accessible position. I have a two-door car - I don't carry children in my car, ever...."
If you never, ever carried children in your car we wouldn't be reading this news item."My sister could've died," she added.
Um, you could have died too - 2-year-olds aren't known for their aim. And then you all could have died when the car crashed, and maybe hit another car, or pedestrians, cyclists, gone through a storefront.... Or the kid could have shot someone outside the car. Just so many possibilities. One more: someone breaks into your parked car at night, finds your gun, and hides in the back seat when you return."I wasn't thinking. For those of you with children, before you get into a car ask if they have a gun. Make sure you are getting into a safe car," [the driver/gun owner] said.
I don't think those are the kinds of friends I want to have. Not people who have guns, but people who have guns and keep them so "handy" that they're a danger to themselves and those around them. (Although the people I know who do have guns tend not to be the sort I would seek as friends for other reasons - organizing their lives on unfounded beliefs rather than facts, and their consequent political alignments.)... the gun owner could possibly face charges related to gun law violations because of where the weapon was kept in the car. He added that the 2-year-old was not in a car seat....
Jayden Clay, 2, Dies After Being Shot in Face
Nov 12 2015, 11:10 am ET
A toddler was killed in Georgia on Wednesday night after being shot in the face, investigators told NBC affiliate WXIA.
The 2-year-old boy ... was in a room with his twin brother when the gun went off.... The boys' mother was in the kitchen at the time of the shooting....
Detroit boy, 9, mourned after shooting
3:49 p.m. EST November 12, 2015
Dad charged after son apparently shoots self to death
5:18 p.m. EST November 12, 2015
Daylen died Monday after he shot himself with a shotgun [in an upstairs bedroom] Monday afternoon on the city's west side....
Christopher D. Head, 45, of Detroit was arraigned in 36th District Court in the death of Daylen Makhai Head.... "... the father possessed a loaded shotgun that was not secured and accessible to the child," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Head was charged with second-degree homicide, involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, use of a firearm in a felony, firearm possession by a felon and a "short-barrelled shotgun" firearms charge.
"The report cards for the first marking period are coming out today.... He would have had above-average grades with no absences, which is quite an accomplishment."
"An accomplishment" for Daylen (because of his family situation?), or in general? I, and many others, routinely had perfect attendance. And half the class is going to have (at or) above average grades.Head was remanded to jail Thursday morning. A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 19. A preliminary examination is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 25....
The stories mentioned crowdfunding for funeral expenses. If the father is suddenly in jail for a week or two (or likely, much longer), what happens to basic household expenses - rent/mortgage, utilities, food? Is this a just-managing, paycheck-to-paycheck family? If Dad had shot someone, sure, he belongs in jail. But if he was just stupid and irresponsible is that a reason to make his family destitute? I don't have the impression he would abscond because of this.Recent Shootings Reflect Grim Frequency of Child Gun Deaths
Nov 12 2015
Consider what happened in the first 11 days of November: a 9-year-old boy was targeted and shot dead by gang members, a 6-year-old boy was killed by police in Louisiana, a 5-year-old Ohio boy was struck by street gunfire that tore through his home, a 9-year-old boy shot himself in Detroit, and 2-year-old boy was fatally shot in the face while he played with his twin brother in Georgia.
That sample is small, but it reflects the many ways firearms kill America's youngest citizens. Many are accidental - victims of mistaken gunshots, often the result of negligence by adults who fail to keep their weapons locked away. Others are murdered, or struck by gunshots that were not intended for them. The recent cases also illustrate how frequently such tragedies unfold: just about every other day, on average. From 1999 to 2013, the most recent year for which data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is available, 2,733 children aged 11 and under were killed by firearms in some way or another. That comes down to 15 a month, or 3.5 a week.
A similar analysis by NBC News, covering the 12 months after the December 2012 killings of 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, found 173 victims under the age of 12. Eighty of the shootings were accidental. But more, 93, were intentional. A third of the 173 victims were killed by their parents, including cases of murder-suicide.... ... a stranger was rarely to blame; in most cases that did not involve a parent, the gun was fired by another child, a relative or family friend, or the victim.
... unintentional firearm deaths of children may actually be under-reported.
"We make make it incredibly easy for anybody who wants a gun to get a gun. And, we don't store them safely."
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have [laws that require parents to store guns in safe places] such measures on the books, but a new one hasn't passed in more than 10 years....
... when viewed as a portion of the part of the 33,000 firearm deaths in America in 2013, the number of victims under the age of 12 is tiny.
The patterns in homicides of children
Four patterns emerge:
- Few of the killers are strangers. Family members account for 51 percent of the killers. Other people known to the victim account for another 28 percent. Strangers are only 7 percent. And 13 percent of cases, the relationship status couldn't be determined.
- Few killings of children happen during "street crime" or "gang violence." Arguments and home violence are far more deadly for children than getting caught up in a crime unfolding. Police reported only 13 percent of the homicides as happening during commission of another felony.
- Guns are used in about one in four homicides of children under 12. Guns are not the No. 1 weapon in homicides of younger children. .... Babies rarely get shot, but they do get strangled or shaken, so the most often used "weapon" is hands or feet, at 34 percent. Next are guns, at 23 percent. The picture changes rapidly as one moves up the age range - older children can fight back or run away. By the time children are 3, the most common weapon in homicides is a gun. For all age groups, including adults, guns are used in 66 percent of homicides.
- Most of the guns that kill children are handguns, which are far more commonly used than all other types of guns combined. The same pattern holds for adult victims.
- "Don't bring a gun into the home. It's counterproductive, increases your risk, to have a gun at home."
- "If you have a gun, and you're going to keep it, store it safely. Store it locked up. Better yet, locked up and unloaded."
- "Keep high-risk adults from having access to firearms," particularly those with a history of violence or crimes involving alcohol abuse, which is closely associated with homicide.
- Teach kids, especially in high-risk populations, alternatives to violence for solving problems.
There are not likely to be many gun owners reading here. I don't think any of the parents I know have guns. But it's the intersection of those two sets - parents and gun owners - that I'm addressing. If you keep a gun loaded and accessible in your home, car, or purse, you have to consider that your children (or their friends) will find it. And what happens after that is a crapshoot.
Gun-safety education for children? Seems reasonable, if you have a gun in the house. Most of us accept that kids should have sex education; we realize that the ones who are going to have sex will do so with or without education. Understanding the mechanics and the implications - sex ed - doesn't cause sexual activity. Maybe things are the same with guns, and your kid will be less likely to play with your gun if (s)he understands what the thing is designed to do and its possible consequences. (I don't know how you educate a 2-year-old, though.)
Another one came along - no one killed, but still a bad situation:Arizona Man Leaves Granddaughter Alone in Desert With Loaded Gun
An Arizona man left his 5-year-old granddaughter alone in a desert outside Phoenix with a loaded and cocked gun - so he could have "a few drinks and a cheeseburger," Maricopa County authorities said Monday. Paul Rater, 62, was charged with two counts of child abuse and one count of child endangerment after the girl's mother reported her daughter missing, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said in a release. Authorities had been searching for the girl by helicopter when her relatives told the sheriff's office she had been found "all alone, in the desert" with a loaded, cocked .45-caliber handgun, the release said.
A couple of stories about children killed by Pit Bulls. Many people defend the breed, saying the dogs can be behaved and gentle, and the aggression comes from the dogs' training and treatment. But these stories keep popping up with a gentle, sociable dog that suddenly flips out and attacks another dog or person, and cannot be deterred, even by the owner. Many other breeds will snarl, snap, or bite when startled. But they'll stop, or can be pulled off. In both these events, the dogs had no previous (reported) incidents of aggression.9-Year-Old Girl Killed by Pit Bull While Playing With Friends in Long Island Yard
Amiyah Dunston, a fourth-grade student at Plaza Elementary school, died Sunday after the dog attacked her at a friend's house. A woman inside the house rushed out and tried to pull the dog off the girl, but couldn't. Dunston had been playing with two other girls at the time of the attack; they were not harmed.
Nassau County police officers responding to the 911 call at the Holland Avenue house in Elmont found the dog attacking the girl. When one of the officers entered the yard from the house, the dog charged at the officer, who shot and killed the animal, said Detective Michael Bitsko.
There had been no previous complaints to police about the dog, Bitsko said, adding that he didn't know why the dog attacked the girl.
11-Month-Old Dies After Being Attacked by Family Pet
Police say an 11-month-old boy has died after being attacked by his family's 2-year-old pet pit bull terrier. Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol says 32-year-old Lisa Cittadino of Marshall, New York, called 911 Sunday evening reporting that the dog had attacked her son. Cittadino told deputies the dog had been playing in the living room with the baby and his three sisters, age 7 to 12, when the attack happened around 7:15 p.m.
The child was rushed by ambulance to a hospital where he died of face and neck wounds.
Cittadino told investigators the dog hadn't been aggressive before.
Off topic, but more poor judgement:Omaha Woman Bitten by Tiger After Breaking Into Zoo
An intoxicated woman was bitten by a tiger after she broke into a zoo and tried to pet the animal, police said. Jacqueline Eide, 33, reached into the predator's cage after she allegedly entered Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, early Sunday - just hours after Halloween. ... Eide suffered a "severe trauma" to her left hand.... She was driven to hospital by a friend, where police said Eide was aggressive and showed signs of intoxication by alcohol or drugs. She was cited for criminal trespass and remained at the hospital for treatment Sunday.
This is such a stupid guy thing to do. We seldom hear of women being this kind of stupid. Darwin-award stupid, except she's still in the gene pool.more news about Eide
Here is an excerpt from the post she made on Facebook. "I have lost clients due to the backlash of negative media coverage and horrible comments people have been saying, along with my criminal record being exposed. I couldn't get a peaceful hospital rest due to numerous phone calls/visits from CNN, the local media, calls from family I haven't talked to in years."
An [Omaha police] officer also revealed that she has had a long tryst with the law and that she has a three-page criminal record that include [sic] multiple charges for drunk driving, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/780169.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]