A two-year-old boy accidentally shot himself Monday with a gun he apparently pulled out of his mother’s handbag and was fighting for his life, authorities in the US state of Georgia said.
“That child has been rushed to an area hospital and is currently in critical condition and currently in surgery,” said Mark Lavigne, spokesman for the DeKalb County police department.
Lavigne said the circumstances were under investigation but “the information we’re getting is that it is accidental, it’s not an intentional act.”
The child, who has not been identified, apparently took the handgun out of his mother’s bag and shot himself in the stomach.
The family, who were from neighboring North Carolina, were staying in a hotel in Lithonia, east of Atlanta, at the time of the incident.
I would say that I am tired of writing these posts about little children getting shot with their parent's guns, but part of me thinks that I should be able to hold on until parents finally get tired of rushing those children to the hospital, or attending their funerals, after they have shot themselves with their parent's gun.
But I'm just kidding myself aren't I?
Because it seems that long after my fingers cramp up from age and can no longer type out the words on my keyboard, children will continue dying in this country from guns that their parents purchased to protect them from harm.
Perhaps we should give thanks for the existence of the 2nd Amendment. Just imagine how overrun with happy healthy children this country would be without it.
The 2nd amendment says to have a well armed militia, wouldn't that be today's police force?
ReplyDeleteWell-regulated militia. Many suggest the National Guard is today's "well-regulated militia." Police or the Guard, either way there is no reason for toddlers to have access to weapons.
DeleteBut they bought the gun for protection, Gryphen's. But who's protecting the kids when they're holding mommy or daddy's sex aid?
ReplyDeleteAAAAARGH!
ReplyDeleteBet you they're all good christians, too.
ReplyDelete"The most important question a person can ask is, "Is the Universe a friendly place?""
Albert Einstein
Sad to say, most of us live paranoid, fearful lives. I will not.
GeorgiaPeach
"the information we're getting is that it is accidental..." Seriously??? So, a 2-year-old shooting himself might be suicidal? And, no, it wasn't accidental. It was criminal.
ReplyDeleteI think they meant as opposed to someone else shooting the child and then claiming the child did it himself.
Delete"it's not an intentional act.' No, I doubt a 2 year old tried to commit suicide. But it IS an intentional case of abuse and neglect. Until these GOP idiots (and yes, I believe 99% of these parents are GOP fools) are held accountable, meaning no guns, jail time, and stiff fines, we will not see even a decrease in these stupid shootings. They'd rather 'cling to their guns,' than hug healthy kids. So be it. I'm sure their Jesus is so happy they value a piece of steel over a live child.
ReplyDeleteThere are three standard answers to this situation:
Delete1. It is too soon to investigate. The pain is still too raw.
2. The parents are hurting. That is punishment enough.
3. It was Gods will.
I hate to sound like a horrible person, but I've finally become numb to this type of senseless shooting. The moral outrage is gone and instead it just boils down to dollars and cents. In the long run who is going to pay the long term effects of this child shooting himself. The actions of this idiot mother has most likely already racked up bills of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. The US taxpayer and the healthcare system will most likely end up covering the bills for this ignorant mother for the life of her child.
Lets face it. Everyone is a victim here. It is impossible to lay the blame on anyone. So long as you bring Jesus into the equation, all is forgiven. See it's simple.
Although there is one scapegoat that works every time for the gun people.
Shift the blame over to the President and his family for this one. I can just see the Facebook post: My 2 year old shot himself. Thanks Obama.
I hope the kid doesn't make it. I've been screaming about zero population growth since the early 70s. I really don't care if stupid people or their spawn die from self-inflicted gun violence.
ReplyDeleteYep,the herd thinning itself.
DeleteWho says Darwin was wrong again?? Survival of the fittest. I knew a choir teacher who had started her career down south. She was always amazed at parent teacher conferences how ignorant the parents were. She was determined to make the kids smarter, but a principal told her she was trying too hard. "Dumb people marry other dumb people and have dumb kids." Sad, but true.
DeleteSeriously? Hoping an innocent child doesn't make it? I hope this was an attempt at sarcasm that missed the mark. I have more compassion for an animal that gets hit by a car than some folks have for kids. It's not the kid's fault he was born to two gun loving morons. I hope they die a long, slow, painful, lonely death, not the kid.
DeleteTo 5:12,
DeleteI hope the kid doesn't make it...I really don't care if stupid people or their spawn die from self-inflicted gun violence. Sarcasm, yes. Very sincere sarcasm, to be exact. Why would I care if some unknown person is careless with a gun & as a result, their own child is shot and dies? Maybe someday, if enough people of any age are shot because of carelessness and suffer for a time before they die, this country and the gun humping freaks will finally pass some sensible gun laws. The age of the person shot is irrelevant to me personally, and also too, if more children (vs adults) that this happens to, the faster change will happen. Oh also, too, zero population growth has fallen by the wayside. The Earth can only support so many people. If the stupid people are the ones to go first, I'm okay with that.
And the religious right are always advocating how "pro-life" and pro guns they are.
ReplyDeleteIrony meter on 10
What genius figured out that the two year old didn't intentionally shoot himself? Even putting out such a statement proves ignorance above & beyond a rational brain.
ReplyDeleteThis was no accident, it was yet another case of willful & negligent child abuse.
If you want to rail against careless people, I could agree with you. But to pick one method of death and fixate on it because an object freaks you out makes the problem look worse than it is. The fact is, kids die in a lot of accidental ways partly because they don't understand consequences. But the biggest accidental causes of death in children are from auto injuries and from drowning. I still don't see you fixating on automobiles or water. Two other things which contribute more to the unintentional deaths of kids than guns, that I don't see you rail against are drugs(prescription and otherwise), and alcohol. Mind altering substances take away what little sense kids (and adults) have. How many homes have drugs and alcohol in unlocked cabinets where kids can get their hands on it when parents aren't paying attention? These two things contribute to other causes of death such as auto accidents and drownings besides their direct causes. Accidental poisoning by prescription drugs is also the leading cause of accidental death in adults.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cdc.gov/injury/images/lc-charts/leading_causes_of_injury_deaths_unintentional_injury_2014_1040w740h.gif
Jesus H. Christ. ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING CARS & POOLS BULLSHIT!
DeleteCars and pools serve a purpose other than certain death. In many places, cars are ESSENTIAL to function in life. Like here in So Cal.
Guns are meant to kill. That is it.
Children die in car accidents. What happens? We get improved safety standards in automobile design, air bags, seat belt laws, car seat laws, laws that prohibit distracted, drunk or reckless driving, laws that prohibit texting and cell phone use while driving, speed limits, stop signs, traffic lights...
DeleteChildren die from drowning. What happens? We get local ordinances that require homes to have fences around backyard pools, laws that require lifeguards at public pools and beaches.
Children die from accidental drug and alcohol overdoses. What happens? We get child-proof containers, increased age limits for purchasing and consuming alcohol, laws regulating the purchase of legal medications that can be used to create illegal drugs, laws that prohibit the use of certain drugs.
Children die from guns. What happens?
We get universal background checks and waiting times on all gun purchases. Oh, that's right...we don't.
We get safety locks on triggers. Oh, that's right...we don't.
We get bans on high-capacity magazines and private ownership of military-grade weapons. Oh, that's right...we don't.
We get laws that require basic training in care and operation of all firearms. Oh, that's right...we don't.
We get laws that require the safe storage of weapons and ammunition in child-proof containers. Oh, that's right...we don't.
In all of the other cases, the design of products and the laws regulating their use continuously change to improve safety, but we are not allowed to even CONSIDER making the ownership and use of deadly weapons slightly less dangerous, even to innocent children. And THAT'S why we fixate on guns and the intolerable number of children who die because of their careless and improper use.
X 100 Billion plus. Best Comment, can't agree more.
DeleteBravo 1:43 & 2:33! Twodux, your comment and the reasoning behind it would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic.
DeleteThis can all be traced back to when the republicans realized they needed a large uneducated demographic in order to win elections. They have been gutting public education ever since.
ReplyDeleteAnd until people start doing serious jail time for child endangerment this will not stop.
Not holding my breath.
How tragic we think the Paris and Brussels terrorists attacks were. Yet we have lost similar numbers of citizens here in mass shootings and nothing is done by the population here because the NRA doesn't want gun sales to lag.
ReplyDeleteBUT the rwnuts rage and rail about how Obama does nothing about the terrorists.
Ignorance abounds when it is the goal everyday to denigrate our wonderful, intelligent president who is doing everything he can for us with all the barriers the rwnj put in his way.
Georgia, huh? I'm shocked they found it was unintentional so soon. I guess that's a step in the right direction. WTF are the parents thinking? Or are they thinking at all? A Two year old's reach is much further than their hands can reach, and having a loaded, unlocked weapon and a kid in the same space should be a crime. This was no accident, it was a crime. An accident is wearing two different socks, oh wait, that's being a golfer, An accident is hitting an animal with your car, hitting another car with your car, forgetting to take your pill, wearing your bra over your sweater.
ReplyDeleteHaving a loaded weapon and a kid? At the least, negligible homicide, At worse, a preventable murder if the kid doesn't make it. If he does make it, it's child abuse of the worse kind and he should be placed in a safe home.
I hope this kid makes it, can't imagine the trauma and later realizing it could have been prevented.
BS on "haven't the parents suffered enough?" Keep your guns properly locked, keep your ammo in a different location, check that the gun's empty. Check Again, then put a trigger lock on, take the key and lock it in your glove compartment.