Kentucky 5-Year-Old Gets RIFLE AS GIFT And SHOOTS 2-Year-Old Sister DEAD

[Segami]

A 5-year-old boy in Kentucky shot and killed his 2-year-old sister on Tuesday while playing with a .22 caliber rifle that he was given as a gift, state police said in a statement.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the shooting happened at the family’s home in Cumberland County around 1 p.m. The 2-year-old girl was later pronounced dead at Cumberland County Hospital.

Cumberland County Coroner Gary White identified the girl as Caroline Starks.

He said the children's mother was at home when the shooting occurred, and the gun was a gift the boy received last year.

"It's a Crickett," he said. "It's a little rifle for a kid. ...The little boy's used to shooting the little gun."

White said the gun was kept in a corner, and the family did not realize a shell had been left in it.

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/04/30/2621458/5-year-old-boy-accidentally-shoots.html

cont'


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/01/kentucky-5-year-old-gets-rifle-as-gift-and-shoots-2-year-old-sister-dead/

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. proud gun owners, teaching proud gun ownership to kids.

I suspect they will pray, and claim it was god's choice.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Five? Jesus wept.

I got a .22 rifle for Christmas the year I was nine. Five is too young to understand the responsibility involved with owning a firearm. And keeping it propped in a corner? Not in a gun cabinet, on a closet shelf, somewhere the kid couldn't get it? Irresponsible and stupid, and now a little girl is dead.

[tblue37]

58. He got it A YEAR AGO--when he would have been 4 years old! nt

[hack89]

3. That is way too young

eight is when I taught my kids but when I wasn't with them the guns were locked in a safe. They never had unsupervised access to guns.

[thecrow]

29. And why was he up at 1am???

Five years old?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

42. it says 1 pm. n/t

[pstokely]

82. Why wasn't he at school?

?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

88. good question...I have no idea...

No kids...I don't know anything about kid crap

[Android3.14]

125. Uh...he's five

Not an excuse for having a gun out. But a kid being out of school at age five is unsurprising..

[pstokely]

126. Was he homeskooled?

He might old enough for Kindergarten

[gollygee]

127. That's kindergarten age

a lot of school districts still have half-day kindergarten.

It could also be preschool age, with this being the end of the school year, depending on when he turned 5.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. A 5 year old was given a .22 as a gift?

That's insane. To ratchet the insanity up to a higher level, the adults who thought this was a good idea left it loaded and where he could access it.

Such an avoidable tragedy.

[Fumesucker]

9. In another thread it's been explained that the kid was 4 when he got the gun last year n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Just when I was sure it couldn't get worse.

I've been proven wrong.

I cannot imagine how anyone couldn't have foreseen a tragic ending when they gave a deadly firearm to a preschooler as a gift.

[librechik]

5. my father accidentally shot and killed his 3 year old sister when he was 7

needless to say, he turned into a troubled man.

[eissa]

15. I was thinking the same thing

I don't give a damn about the parents. I hope their daughter's death haunts them for the rest of their lives. But the boy? He's going to have to live with the fact that he killed his sister. And I somehow don't think these parents are the type that believe in therapy. They'll just try to pray the guilt away.

[Segami]

87. What is the NRA's position on this gun incident?

[SummerSnow]

102. NRA would argue that the 2 year old should have been armed

[ailsagirl]

123. That's not really funny, but in a macabre, insane way, it is.

Gallows humor.

Lawrence O'Donnell, in his cool but intense way, was absolutely furious tonight. I'm with him.

[marshall]

111. He looks very angry in that photo

He could be concentrating, but it's very strange that after he's shot his sister his parents send out a photo of him pointing a gun at a camera.

[Rebl]

115. You got that right

The parents should be charged with manslaughter. Something similar happened in the Kansas City area earlier this year. Of course the adults were not charged and the child that did the shooting will live with this the rest of his life. We need to start charging the adults when something like this happens. I'm sick of hearing stories like this. Shouldn't the adults at least be charged with child endangerment?

[Bryn]

85. Oh, I am so sorry this happened to your father

This must have been hard.

[ailsagirl]

121. That's so sad

I'm sorry

[leftyohiolib]

6. so who's been arrested -

[MattBaggins]

24. Child should be taken away and parents should spend some time in jail

[malaise]

63. I remember them taking kids away from their parents over their names

because the parents gave them Nazi names but they can give kids weapons

[Chemisse]

7. It's their prerogative to give their child a lethal weapon.

It's NOT their right to allow it to be available and loaded, without supervision.

Not only do they have a dead baby now, but their five-year-old gets to be consumed with guilt for life.

I would say they are unfit to be parents.

[loyalsister]

60. Interesting

As far as I understand gun ownership as a "right" is not limited to adults. Scary thought. I hope someone will show up and let me know that is wrong.

[cui bono]

69. It should be limited to adults.

Just like voting and alcohol.

[KitSileya]

72. Not to mention, as others on this site have claimed,

denying gun owners (regardless of age, I presume) access to bullets, or making bullets expensive by way of taxing them is tantamount to denying them their right to own guns. That five-year old has a right to both rifle and bullet, and if he manages to load the rifle, more power to him! (do I need the sarcasm tag for that last sentence?)

[loyalsister]

79. I am completely baffled

That anyone could consider it a good idea for a child to own a gun let and even worse, to market guns to kids.

I actually got shot with a BB gun when I was a kid 8-9. It was an accident and the kid who did it was a few years older than me. It is probably happening to a lot of kids now.

[KitSileya]

92. Honestly, I think the obsession Americans have with guns is pathological.

It's a sickness, in my opinion. Children have guns? Heck, I think it's over the top for ordinary adults to own pistols, guns, semi-automatics, anything but ordinary hunting rifles of the variety where you have to reload after each shot. Or perhaps four shots, if you take bears into consideration. Anything else shows a disgusting interest in killing that makes my skin crawl.

So it's a good thing I live in Norway, I guess.

[ailsagirl]

122. Lucky you, on that score

I'm completely baffled by it. Makes my skin crawl, too.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. Why are these incidents ruled to be accidental with no charges filed?

A child is dead because the parents were not responsible enough to properly store a dangerous device. "I didn't know the gun was loaded" is a very poor excuse.

I realize that accidents do happen and that it is almost impossible to protect your children from every situation that could cause harm, but leaving a firearm within reach of a child is negligence, pure and simple.

[TDale313]

17. ^^^ this ^^^

[uponit7771]

19. +1

[azurnoir]

46. +2 n/t

[avebury]

52. Exactly! nt

[KurtNYC]

96. There seems to be a different set of rules whenever crimes involve guns, football players,

celebrities, the Bush family, schools or religious institutions. Things that would be criminal in other spheres, in these cases are called: accidents, horse play, bullying, hazing and allegations. Investigations are either skipped or "handled internally."

[Arkansas Granny]

98. Isn't that the truth.

[Ilsa]

103. ^^^ This home is too dangerous for

children. Social services need to "clean house" and these people need to have their gun rights taken away, the same as if they were driving drunk and committed manslaughter.

[Arkansas Granny]

105. Children have been removed from homes for far less than this.

[gollygee]

128. Parent accidentally leaves kid in car and kid dies, parent charged

Parent gives kid deadly weapon and kid kills someone, nothing happens.

I agree. Someone should be charged.

[Deep13]

10. Here's a gun, kid. What could possibly go wrong? nt

[marions ghost]

12. Charge the parents

with involuntary manslaughter. The negligence and recklessness of gun owners who allow this kind of thing to happen must be addressed. It's the only way you get stupid people to
wise up. It is the parents' duty to keep loaded guns away from kids. Duty.
-----------------

"There are two types of involuntary manslaughter statutes: criminally negligent manslaughter and unlawful act manslaughter. Criminally negligent manslaughter occurs when death results from a high degree of negligence or recklessness. Modern criminal codes generally require a consciousness of risk and under some codes the absence of this element makes the offense a less serious Homicide.

An omission to act or a failure to perform a duty constitutes criminally negligent manslaughter. The existence of the duty is essential. Since the law does not recognize that an ordinary person has a duty to aid or rescue another in distress, a death resulting from an ordinary person's failure to act is not manslaughter. On the other hand, an omission by someone who has a duty, such as a failure to attempt to save a drowning person by a lifeguard, might constitute involuntary manslaughter.

In many jurisdictions death that results from the operation of a vehicle in a criminally negligent manner is punishable as a separate offense. Usually it is considered a less severe offense than involuntary manslaughter. These jurisdictions usually call the offense reckless homicide, negligent homicide, or vehicular homicide. One reason for this lesser offense is the reluctance of juries to convict automobile drivers of manslaughter."

[bowens43]

13. There's the gun culture....are 5 year olds......

gun lovers are some sick individuals. Having a desire to won a gun without a clear need is a definite sign of mental illness.....giving a gun to a child is bat shit crazy. These parents should spend a long long time in jail.

[justiceischeap]

14. According to the coroner, it was "Just one of those crazy accidents."

An accident is something that isn't preventable, Mr. Coroner. Your quote should have been, "Just another case of parents being negligent."

[Segami]

16. Criminal negligence!

[red dog 1]

65. Criminal negligence in most states....but in Kentucky, it's "an accidental death"

[jberryhill]

21. The coroner determines cause of death, not legal judgments

[justiceischeap]

30. Yes but he was quoted as what I quoted...

He shouldn't be making statements that are a based on legalities.

[Segami]

31. +1

Stick to doctoring and determining the cause of death and leave the speculative investigation to the detectives.

[Arkansas Granny]

32. Let's consider another scenario. Let's imagine that another child had been visiting the home and

found the gun. If he/she had shot and killed someone or himself/herself would it still be a "crazy accident" or would charges be filed against the adults who left the weapon where it could be accessed by a child?

[SleeplessinSoCal]

54. "crazy accidents" Crazy? How crazy is it to talk like this about the death of a 2 year old?

Horrible accident is more like it.

[Arugula Latte]

18. The little girl is dead, but the 2nd amendment lives on, and that's what counts for the gun humpers.

[red dog 1]

57. Love those penguins.

[freshwest]

20. 'family did not realize a shell had been left in it'

REALLY?

Well, it was just a girl.

[TeamPooka]

67. and it was kept out in the open in a corner of the room

[meyer2311]

22. responsible? ???

And the parents of this 5 year old is the type of responsible people that the GOP are saying the gun laws will alianate. Horible hoeible horible!!!!!!

[hrmjustin]

25. Very sad story. Welcome to DU meyer2311.

[MattBaggins]

23. Basic age requirements for owning a gun is something

else the opponents of sensible gun safety laws will not allow.

[lunasun]

70. Esp when there are many companies devoted to kid$ guns

The company that makes the rifle, Milton, Pa.-based Keystone Sporting Arms, has a "Kids Corner" on its website with pictures of young boys and girls at shooting ranges and on bird and deer hunts. It says the company produced 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles for kids in 2008. The smaller rifles are sold with a mount to use at a shooting range.

Keystone also makes guns for adults, but most of its products are geared toward children, including books and bright orange vests and hats.

"The goal of KSA is to instill gun safety in the minds of youth shooters and encourage them to gain the knowledge and respect that hunting and shooting activities require and deserve," the website said.
.............Sharon Rengers, a longtime child advocate at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, said making and marketing weapons specifically for children was "mind-boggling."

"It's like, oh, my God," she said, "we're having a big national debate whether we want to check somebody's background, but we're going to offer a 4-year-old a gun and expect something good from that?"
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/coroner-boy-shoots-year-sister-ky-19088572?page=2

[matt819]

26. These would be the people referred to as . . .

Gun nuts?

[get the red out]

27. Horrific

I heard it on the local news this morning. I wish I could say I am surprised, but people just keep getting less intelligent and more irresponsible where fire arms are concerned.

[southernyankeebelle]

28. What a perfect poster child he would make for not giving a 5 yr old gun.

[Progressive dog]

33. What an awful story

Another gun death out of more than 80 a day. This one due to making gun nut toys for children. But we can't fix the problem because the gun nuts and their representatives in congress say no.

[valerief]

34. So are the parents going to prison for this? They may as well have shot the kid themselves. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

35. If I left my 4 year old on a street corner and disappeared for a few hours, I'd probably be arrested

But its perfectly OK for gunner imbeciles to give their four year old a "little" rifle, and leave it in a corner loaded - even unto causing the death of a child.

Trala, it's gunner time in America!

[newmember]

40. ????

On a street corner???

Try just doing that inside your house and you could be arrested.

never mind a street corner

[TheMightyFavog]

36. Five is way too young to have a firearm.

Last edited Wed May 1, 2013, 07:20 PM - Edit history (2)

A child shouldn't even be handling one until they are at least ten. And even then they should not only be under strict adult supervision until 18, they should have taken some sort of safety training first. (i.e. hunter education, Boy/Girl scout shooting sports merit badge, etc.)

[spanone]

37. well fuck me...gunz don't kill people, five year olds with guns do...

[SheilaT]

38. Yet another responsible gun owner.

Remind me again why the 2nd amendment protects the rights of a 5 year old to shoot and kill?

And people here think I'm over the top to suggest confiscating guns.

[umt9]

39. Idiot parents

Giving a 5 year old a .22 is bad enough, but not supervising him proves that some people have no business being parents.

[malokvale77]

109. I had a post hidden for saying that.

[Tanuki]

41. Despicable images from the Crickett gun mfg.website:

[img][/img] [img][/img]
[img][/img] [img][/img]

Only a few of many. WTF is wrong with these parents? There ought to be a law!!!
http://www.crickett.com/crickett_kidscorner.php?osCsid=vsepmlm065lelrqq3gudfb9233

[Quantess]

61. TODDLERS holding rifles???

That is sick.

[MarianJack]

43. Somewhere in America...

...wayne lapierre just had a sexual climax.

PEACE!

[Aldo Leopold]

44. I see that the company is located on "Sodom Road" in Milton, Pennsylvania

Clearly marketing gun sales to kids. Sick.

[freshwest]

45. If only she'd been armed. Start 'em off young:

No wonder the police wrote it off as an accident. Nothing could possibly go wrong!



Americans have lost their minds.

[BrotherIvan]

73. That picture is literally blood-curdling

That child should be taken from the home. They can keep their damn guns.

[freshwest]

74. Mom of the year stuff, huh? I won't say what I'm thinking, it'd get hidden.

This is the generation we're looking at as this madness is allowed to continue. There are a lot of pictures on the net of these lunatics, and their children are being taught it's beautiful and a good thing. The media, especially alternative or conspiracy media, is teaching them that to give up their guns is a sure death, and that they should be willing to kill any person that says otherwise.

[BrotherIvan]

75. It's fucking madness

I'm still fuming from that picture. I don't think I could see any more.

[freshwest]

76. I understand. It's callous, careless, depraved. Thanks for your opinion, too.

[JDPriestly]

47. If we had background checks, this five-year old would not be allowed to own a gun.

[libodem]

50. Yep

Good thought.

[malaise]

48. If I put bleach in a soda bottle and a child drank it

I'd be arrested for negligence. Tell me how and why the parents haven't been charged for manslaughter here?

[Arkansas Granny]

55. Exactly.

If a child came to my home and found an unsecured, loaded gun and proceeded to kill or injure himself/herself or another child, I'm pretty sure I would be held responsible and charged with negligence, in the very least. I don't understand why that doesn't apply in cases like this.

[malaise]

62. It's crazy

This has to stop

[lpbk2713]

49. "Here, Bubba. Hold my beer while I give Lil Bubba his birfday present."

Unfuggenbelievable.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

51. Shoulda got them both this...

[mountain grammy]

53. So the county coroner called it "just one of those crazy accidents." There's that crazy again.

I'm confused, is it the 5 year old that's mentally ill? The parents? Maybe the victim herself? There must be some kind of mental illness here because guns don't kill people! Ain't that right?

[timdog44]

90. The coroner is who is crazy.

And accidents, I was always taught, are preventable. So we've eliminated any excuse for the parents killing their daughter by using their son to do it. Now they have a dead child, and an up and coming disturbed person, who should be taken away from them.

[red dog 1]

56. Responsible gun owners do not give little kids guns as gifts.

They could have given the boy a toy rifle or a cap pistol instead.

I'll bet the parents don't spend even one day in the slammer, even though they both should be arrested, tried and convicted under whatever federal or state statute covers this type of parental irresponsibility.

As far as that coroner's statement: "It's just one of those crazy accidents", I say BULLSHIT.

[TheMightyFavog]

64. And why wasn't the kid's gun secured in a safe when not in use? Why was it even still loaded?

I will say it again. Five is too young for a kid to have a BB Gun let alone a firearm.

[red dog 1]

66. I agree.

[AlinPA]

59. They should wake up every morning in mental anquish because of their stupidity, but it sounds like

they are just to stupid to feel any remorse. Giving a gun to a 5 year old and leaving it loaded is beyond stupid.

[Mojo Electro]

68. If only the 2-year old had a gun...

she could have defended herself.

[Coyotl]

71. When I was a young kid, I got to kill an 800 pound steer with a 22 rifle.

One shot and they drop like a ton of bricks. We were given guns at a young age and clearly understood what they did. My Dad taught us to use them. We boys fought over who got to kill the animals we slaughtered for our food, but we didn't get violent about it. We hunted rabbits in winter for the table.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

93. I really wish I hadn't read your post

It is really fucked up.

[RebelOne]

99. Ditto. Agreed. n/t

[Mopar151]

114. It's pretty much what went on in our neighborhood - to be fair, there are positives

None of us had any doubt what happens to any creature that is shot at close range. Understanding that real life is not TV is very important in all of this sort of thing - and it's a farming thing, too. Some of farming isn't nice, and we learned very young that doing that humanely and correctly is very important. As any good hunter will tell you, fear makes the meat tough - so terrorizing the animal is a waste any way you look at it.
As for all aspects of gun safety - our dads were WW2 combat veterans. We were not allowed to point so much as a stick at each other like a gun, and guns were kept "put up", not taken out and played with.

[Coyotl]

116. Why do you say "View profile It is really fucked up." It is reality.

Let me guess, you never eat anything because that would involve killing other life forms!

[HiPointDem]

77. the parents reap the reward of their own stupidity. except for the kids i find it hard to summon

up pity, though it must be terrible for them.

but why would anyone do that? it just boggles the mind.

[ecstatic]

78. What if it wasn't an accident?

What if he loaded the gun and shot his sister? Little kids get jealous of their siblings (much like pets get jealous of new babies). Regardless, the fault still lies with the parents who should be on their way to prison right now.

[aquart]

80. I'm guessing they don't believe in abortion, either.

So Mom was home and we're sure the kid did it?

[mwrguy]

81. Anyone who gives a minor an gun is unfit to be a parent.

They need to have their kids taken by the state.

[Recursion]

83. Jesus

Exaggerate much?

[orleans]

119. unfit parenting...

leaving a loaded rifle lying around so your little boy can shoot and kill his little sister.

not unfit parenting?
you don't see a problem with this "parental" behavior?

i guess i don't understand why you're calling "jesus" and throwing out the accusation of exaggeration

it sounds like you're either okay with the little boy having access to this weapon, and thereby the ability to kill his sister -- which he did -- or you think he should remain in the home where this tragedy was allowed to occur.

[Bryn]

84. I tweeted this to Arkansas Legislators ...

Why is it okay to give little kids dangerous guns, but not cigarettes/electronic cigarettes until they're 18? Something's wrong.

[geek tragedy]

86. Parents who love guns more than their own children is why

we have a gundamentalist culture.

[Coyotl]

89. knr

[Ganja Ninja]

91. Most people wouldn't even give a 5 year old a glass of milk to handle on their own.

[bulloney]

94. You can't legally purchase alcoholic beverages in most states until you're 21.

You can't get your driver's license in most states until you're at least 16.

But a 4-year-old can possess and use a firearm.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like something's out of whack in this scenario.

[Prophet 451]

95. I was taught to shoot when I was five

By my father, who carefully supervised me at all times and locked the firearms away in a gunsafe when we were done.

Why teh fuck was a loaded gun lying around unsupervised in a house with children?

[Crunchy Frog]

97. Parents should be thrown in the slammer

and never see kid again. Kid should be adopted and receive intensive therapy.

Parents are guilty of murder and should be treated as murderers.

[W T F]

100. Ok one question: Where do Child Endangerment laws apply here?

[AlinPA]

106. Probably not. 2nd amendment rights trump everything.

[SoCalMusicLover]

101. What If It Had Been Pot Brownies?

If this were a kid who mistakenly brought brownies containing pot to school, the parents would probably be charged and perhaps lose their kids to child protective services.

But here it's just a tragic "accident," and the 2nd Amendment folks probably think the parents are innocent and grieving, so should just be left alone.

[Ilsa]

104. If they had been drunk and ran over her

they would have lost driving privileges. These people need to lose their right to guns since they are so negligent in keeping them. That boy needs to be in a gun-free environment.

[KinMd]

107. JUST as the founding Fathers intended

[Dpm12]

108. What the fuck?

That's fucked up!

[Rex]

110. Never play with a real firearm.

They are not toys and to the parents that let their kids play with firearms...read the article.

[Buzz505]

112. I am very happy for the parents.

They got what they wanted.

[toby jo]

113. How bout we call the little girl a 'really mature fetus' ?

Uh oh, trouble in Wayne's world.

[8 track mind]

117. There is a reason why my Dad would not let me handle a firearm

until i was 15. I don't EVEN want to think what he would have done to me if i brought a loaded weapon into the house, or left a firearm sitting in the corner of a room. Handing a five year old a gun is just insane in the first place, but leaving it where he had access to it is an entirely higher level of stupid.

[8 track mind]

118. looks like Cricketts website has crashed n/t

[orleans]

120. absolutely heartbreaking n/t

[Mr.Pain]

124. I can only say

BAD PARENTS, VERY BAD PARENTS! It's the same as handing a child a knife and saying "Go run and jump and play with it!" Maybe it's time to stop blaming "just the guns" and start blaming STUPID IDIOT PARENTS, and STUPID PEOPLE for STUPIDITY BEYOND BELIEF!
I'm a gun owner myself and I'm PISSED AS HELL about this. What kind of screwed up excuse for a parent does NOT provide PARENTAL SUPERVISION? Yeah, lets just leave it over in the corner so junior can play with it any time he wants. Did they eat paint chips as kids or did they prefer the purple soup? How is this child supposed to deal with the fact that he killed his little sister? Now he's set to be the suicide poster child for the rest of his life! They would have been better off giving him the car keys!
TOO STUPID FOR REALITY!!!