A 14-year old Jacksonville, Florida boy was arrested and charged with negligence after a 6-year old found a gun in a bedroom of his home and accidentally killed himself.  Police said the 14-year-old is accused of improperly storing the gun because he had had possession of the weapon earlier that day.

The child,  6-year old Danny Waye III, was “a precious little boy, full of life,” according to a family friend.  His grandmother called the shooting a “freak accident.”  She was apparently asleep in the home at the time of the accident.

“One of the things that we always cover is the importance of safe storage,” a local gun advocate said. “Florida Law requires that if you have reason to believe that children might gain access to a firearm in your home, that you have to store it in some way where a reasonable person would not expect a child to gain access.”

Reports do not explain how the 14-year old had access to the gun. Nor do they explain why a manufacturer would design a gun without safety features, such as an external manual safety or an integrated gun lock, that would prevent a 6-year old from shooting it. 

Sources:

Ashley Harding, Brittany Muller, Brie Isom, “14-year-old Charged with Negligence in Fatal Shooting of 6-year-old Boy,” News4Jax (June 16, 2021).

Dan Scanlan, “JSO: Jacksonville Boy, 6, Accidentally Shoots Himself; Teen Charged with Culpable Negligence in his Death,” The Florida Times Union (June 16, 2021).