Tragic. Irresponsible. Avoidable.
Being a gun owner is a huge responsibility.
When small children are in the household there should be no cutting corners when securing your firearms. A family in DeLand, Florida is living the nightmare that happens when you take the responsibility lightly.
On Thursday, February 16, a 3 year old boy fatally shot himself when he found a 9mm handgun in a nightstand in his home.
His parents had gone grocery shopping and left him and his 7 year old sibling in the care of their 16 sister.
The unlocked and loaded firearm was in the father’s nightstand and the toddler, doing what toddlers do best, got into his nightstand and shot himself in the face.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a news conference that the 16 year old's frantic 911 call was "heartbreaking".
No charges have been filed but I imagine there will be. Per Florida law, when a child is accidentally shot, "no arrest shall be made prior to 7 days after the date of the shooting.”
“This should never have happened"
The grief in this home is unimaginable.
I can’t begin to think of the guilt that 16 year old is feeling right now. The thought of someone losing their life under your watch is heavy but it wasn’t her fault. There are a lot of questions to be answered by the father, a state corrections officer, regarding the handling and storage of their firearms in the home.
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