Who to blame: parents or kids?

[tattedupboy]

This incident happened right here in my hometown. Upon reading it, I can't help but wonder if the parents are at fault for keeping a loaded weapon where their kids could easily access it, or to blame the kids for being knuckleheads. In either event, it is still tragic.

Link Removed

GARY -- A playful struggle between siblings turned deadly Friday night when their father's gun accidentally discharged, killing 14-year-old TyaTyanna Crayton at her home in Aetna.

The girl's 12-year-old brother shot his sister in the head while he tried to grab the 9mm Beretta semiautomatic pistol from her.

"All the witnesses told basically the same story," Detective James Gonzales said.

Gonzales, Cpl. Mark Salazar and Patrolman Greg Wolf all arrived at 7:40 p.m. at the Aetna home where TyaTyanna was entertaining some friends while her parents were both at work.

The girls were dancing when she and her brother began teasing each other, Gonzales said. TyaTyanna went into her parents' bedroom and returned with the gun, joking about firing it.

"The witnesses said it appeared they were familiar with the weapon, that maybe they had handled it before," Gonzales said.

The four guests, ranging in age from 8 to 19, were present when TyaTyanna's brother reached for the gun while the barrel was pointed at his sister's head. "There were just too many hands on that trigger," he said.

The girl died instantly, pronounced dead at her home in the 5800 block of East 10th Avenue by a Lake County deputy coroner shortly after 8 p.m., police said.

Gonzales said the evidence suggests the shooting was accidental.

He questioned the victim's brother and other witnesses Friday night and said he will present his evidence to the Lake County prosecutor for review early next week.

 

[HK4U]

Probably never taught the children about guns and gun safety. Many parents get a gun, put it up away from the kids and never let them see it or touch it. When my kids were small anytime I got a new gun before it was ever loaded I would let them see it and handle it. I explained that from that time on it would be loaded, whither it was or not, and told them if they wanted to see it again ask me and I would let them. You can not keep guns a mystery from children and hope they will never mess with them. The nature of kids is to check out anything they are forbidden to touch.

 

[Glock Fan]

My son doesn't play with any "toy" guns, not even a water gun because he's taught to handle EVERY gun as if it were "real" and "loaded". Kind of sucks to be shooting a water pistol only in a "safe direction". If he wants to play in a water fight, he'll use a water squirting banana or some other object that doesn't even closely resemble a gun. Problem with parents is that they think they're keeping their children safe by locking up the guns and "forbidding" them from using them. Little do they know that eventually the children will find the gun due to their curiosity. Handling the gun while being "ignorant" eventually leads to tragedy.

Don't want my son to become a statistic, so I've taught him how to properly handle a firearm. He's allowed to check out my firearms at any time, but only while supervised. I'm confident that he'll do the right thing if he ends up in a situation like being at a friend's house where his friend finds "daddy's gun". This is a situation where he'll tell his friend to put the gun down and tell an adult (from the Eddie Eagle Program).



gf

 

[sambo42xa]

Very tragic. Shame on the Parent/s for not teaching their Children the dangers of a firearm and not keeping the weapon locked and out of site. You know, we can go on and on about this but the fact is, a 14 yr old girl is DEAD. BEFORE you bring a weapon into a home with Children, you better make sure You have a safe of some sort and a lock first!
Yeah, they were familiar with the weapon, that maybe they had handled it before. NOT! The only thing they were familiar with was to point and shoot! My Kid's are 6 and 14. They know the dangers of a gun and also know the gun cabinet. They do not know what is in it nor do they know where the Other hidden safe is. Out of site, out of mind. They can snoop all they want, yet I feel that comfortable they will never find the location. And if someone replies to this comment that They will eventually find it. So what, they still cannot get it opened. Adding, IF they get it opened there is nothing in there because the firearm/s is on me. I have safes, locks, firearms, spoke to My Kid's, took NRA gun courses which included Safety as ALL courses do. If these Parents took the neccessary precautions of owning a firearm, their little girl would be alive. I guess what I am saying is that I'm doing my part as a Parent to be as responsible as I can owning firearm/s with Children in the household. Sorry, but I just had to vent on this because this should not have happened and I know it still does everyday in this world we live in. Oh, and to answer Your question.........I blame the owner of the weapon / Parent/s.
Prayers out to the Family.

 

[tattedupboy]

Very tragic. Shame on the Parent/s for not teaching their Children the dangers of a firearm and not keeping the weapon locked and out of site. You know, we can go on and on about this but the fact is, a 14 yr old girl is DEAD. BEFORE you bring a weapon into a home with Children, you better make sure You have a safe of some sort and a lock first!
Yeah, they were familiar with the weapon, that maybe they had handled it before. NOT! The only thing they were familiar with was to point and shoot! My Kid's are 6 and 14. They know the dangers of a gun and also know the gun cabinet. They do not know what is in it nor do they know where the Other hidden safe is. Out of site, out of mind. They can snoop all they want, yet I feel that comfortable they will never find the location. And if someone replies to this comment that They will eventually find it. So what, they still cannot get it opened. Adding, IF they get it opened there is nothing in there because the firearm/s is on me. I have safes, locks, firearms, spoke to My Kid's, took NRA gun courses which included Safety as ALL courses do. If these Parents took the neccessary precautions of owning a firearm, their little girl would be alive. I guess what I am saying is that I'm doing my part as a Parent to be as responsible as I can owning firearm/s with Children in the household. Sorry, but I just had to vent on this because this should not have happened and I know it still does everyday in this world we live in. Oh, and to answer Your question.........I blame the owner of the weapon / Parent/s.
Prayers out to the Family.

I agree with you. Others can say what they want about kids' curiosity getting the best of them, but based on what you've described, I'm confident that what happened in this story will not happen to any of your children. Furthermore, if the parents of this child had taken the precautions that you have taken, their little girl would still be alive.

 

[HK4U]

Here is the thing. For several hundred years children grew up in homes all across this country with guns in the homes loaded. They lived on farms and ranches and most families had guns loaded to protect them from the dangers that they faced everyday. Tragic accident and killings did not happen all the time. Children were taught about and respected firearms. They did not have to be hid from them. What has changed today? It is the way we as a society views guns and the lack of early teaching of our children along with to much unsupervised time the kids have. If you do not educate the children on firearms and let them learn to use them at as early an age as possable you can not protect them simply by hiding them and locking them away. There are always friends and others that they can use to satisfy their natural curiosity with.

 

[mrsandman224455]

I was brought up with guns (my grandfather always had them around). I was thought to respect every gun and treat it as it was loaded. I will raise my children the same way. Children need to be educated, not restricted. Children are curious, if they don't know about something, they going to investigate and play with it. If you educate a child and show them and teach them, they will respect firearms and know to stay away and not play with it. I blame parents for lack of education in situations like this. I believe that as a firearm owner, you carry the responsablity of preventing accidents that may occur with your firearms. This includes, accidents with your own children. If this firearm owner has educated his daughter, she would still be alive today. This is very tragic, and very sad and my heart goes out to the family because loosing a child must be so rough. I hope this opens people's eyes to the fact that firearm education in the home, is very important. This family will be in my prayers.

 

[Memphis]

To answer the post directly, YES it was the parents fault. You all have some great and valid points that as a father I would agree with.

Not ever gun owner is like most of us but, it sure would be nice if they were.

 

[tattedupboy]

Of course the Bradys are going to use this incident to show how dangerous having a gun in the home is. I believe the statistic is that a gun in the home is 40 times more likely to injure or kill someone living there than it is to be used in self defense.

 

[Memphis]

I think it's more like: Children shoot themselves or others at least 83% of the time they have a gun in the home for more than 99.98% of the time that children handle 70% +\- loaded or unloaded weapons of mass destruction.

Whatever statistic will make you want to vote anti-2A is fine with me.

Remember boys and girls, 100% of statistics are B**l S**t at least 50% of the time.

 

[tattedupboy]

I think it's more like: Children shoot themselves or others at least 83% of the time they have a gun in the home for more than 99.98% of the time that children handle 70% +\- loaded or unloaded weapons of mass destruction.

Whatever statistic will make you want to vote anti-2A is fine with me.

Remember boys and girls, 100% of statistics are B**l S**t at least 50% of the time.

+1 on that one. Statistics, even those that are in our favor, can be made to do just about anything you want them to do. The key thing to look at is the agenda of the person doing the research. If you want the stats to show that concealed carry is good, then thats what they'll show. If you want them to show that it puts people in danger, then that's what it'll show.