A three-year old and a six-year old died at the hospital in separate incidents involving unsecured loaded guns found in their homes.
The three-year old, a Meigs County, Ohio boy, shot himself in the chest. “I just couldn’t imagine the pain and the hurt and the suffering they’re going through at the time, and for many years to come. That’s a child. That’s not a dad, a mom, a niece, or nephew. That’s your child. It’s a different feeling,” a neighbor said.
The local sheriff offered the following in the wrongheaded belief that evidence shows that you can teach three-year old how to behave around guns, “I encourage people to not leave these things laying around. Secure them, unload them.” he said. “There’s a lot of guns in our world, but you have to teach them what these guns can do, not that it’s just a gun and hide it from them. You’ve got to teach them; that’s very important and crucial, because if they don’t know what it will do this is sometimes what you’ll see happen.” The first part of his statement is correct, the second less so for three-year old children.
There is an ongoing investigation but no charges have been filed.
The six-year old was shot and killed by his eight-year old brother in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The boys’ father, D’Onte Patterson, has been arrested and charged with murder in the second degree and cruelty to children. Patterson told authorities that the boys found the gun on the floor of his bedroom.
Sources:
Emily Bennett, “Three-year-old Boy Killed After Accidental Shooting,” WSAZ 3 News Channel (April 8, 2022).
Joyce Lupiani, “6-year-old Boy Dead After Shooting in Stone Mountain Home, Father Charged,” CBS 46 News (April 8, 2022).