15 year old Alaska boy injured while walking home from rabbit hunt

An Alaska teen was shot in the leg while walking home from a rabbit hunt. From an article:

An Alakanuk teenager was shot in the leg while walking home from a rabbit hunt Thursday, and troopers say they have no idea who fired at him, or why.

The 15-year-old was walking alone near the Yukon River at about 6:30 p.m. on Thursday when he was shot in the left calf, the Alaska State Troopers said in an online dispatch.

The wound appeared to be from a .22-caliber firearm, troopers said.

Troopers at an outpost St. Mary's weren't notified until 11 a.m. the next day, according to the dispatch.

2-year old Alaskan boy shot to death by vengeful father

A 2-year old boy, Kyle Moses, was staying the night with his mother and other family members at

a home in Tununak, Alaska.  That's when Kyle's father, Edward Moses, entered the home with a shotgun and ordered everyone out at gunpoint except for his son.  After allowing the boy to talk to his aunt via phone, he then shot Kyle in the head, killing him.  

The father was later arrested after a standoff.  Kyle's body was found soon afterward nearby.

The father apparently killed the boy because he was unhappy about the mother being with another man.

From an article:

In an affidavit filed with the charges in state court in Bethel Saturday, a state trooper said Moses entered a home in the village where the child was staying with his mother on Thursday night. Moses later shot the child in the head, and told troopers afterward he was upset with his child's mother for being with another man, troopers said.  ... 

According to the affidavit, when Moses entered the home in Tununak, he "was carrying a shotgun and a bucket which (a witness) believed to have homebrew in it."
He told everyone to exit the house except for his son, and ordered them to leave their cell phones behind, the affidavit said. 

When one of the women in the home didn't immediately comply, "Edward racked his shotgun, chambered a round, and then pointed the shotgun" at her. She dropped her phone and left for a neighbor's house, she told troopers. 

An aunt of the child told troopers Moses called her later Thursday night demanding to speak with the child's mother, according to the affidavit. Moses gave the aunt 15 minutes to find the child's mother, the trooper wrote, or he would kill the child, then himself. 

As the 15 minutes neared, Moses called back, and Moses could be heard tellng the child to say goodbye to his aunt, the trooper affidavit said. The aunt then heard a gunshot over the phone, the trooper said in the court filing. 

When troopers arrived in the village on Friday, Moses was barricaded inside his father's house, and surrendered after several hours of negotiations, troopers said. 

He told the officers he had shot the child, and said he was "upset at (the child's mother) for being with another man and didn't think she should be burdened with their son," the trooper's affidavit said. 

Troopers said the child's body was found down the beach from the Moses house, with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/09/14/3075044/man-arrested-on-murder-charges.html#storylink=cp

Troopers said the child's body was found down the beach from the Moses house, with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/09/14/3075044/man-arrested-on-murder-charges.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/09/14/3075044/man-arrested-on-murder-charges.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/09/14/3075044/man-arrested-on-murder-charges.html#storylink=cpy

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16 year old Alaska teen shot by friend

An Alaska teen was visiting a friend when a shotgun when off, critically injuring him. From an article:

A Kodiak teenage boy is reported to be in critical condition after sustaining a shotgun wound Sunday night at a home on Woody Way Loop, and Police Chief T.C. Kamai says another teen is in custody, charged with first-degree assault.

    The 16-year-old victim was visiting in the home of the 15-year-old boy when the shooting occurred.

    “Well at about 8:47 last night, officers were called to a residence on Woody Way Loop for a report that a 16-year-old boy had been accidentally shot by another boy," Kamai said. "When police arrived, they found a 16-year-old male victim who sustained the gunshot wound. He was transported to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center in critical condition.”

    This (Monday) morning Kamai said it’s his understanding the injured boy had been transported to Anchorage for additional care.

    The chief said department detectives are now on the case.

     “Detectives were called in and they began their investigation," he said. "We’ve recovered the firearm that was involved in the shooting.”

    Chief Kamai said there may be additional charges brought against the 15-year-old later. He was taken into custody without incident and is lodged at Kodiak Jail. Because he is a juvenile, the Kamai would not release his identity

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

8-year old Alaskan boy shoots and kills 5-year old sister with his hunting rifle

An 8-year old boy in the remote Alaskan town of Mountain Village was home alone with his 5-year old sister while their parents were away.  The boy then accessed a Ruger .22 rifle that he was used to using for hunting and shot his sister dead.

From an article:

Few details were available Tuesday, but the 8-year-old was reportedly playing with a .22-caliber Ruger rifle when the weapon discharged, fatally shooting his sister at about 2:20 p.m. Monday. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was accidental or intentional, and the girl's body was sent to the State Medical Examiner's office in Anchorage for an autopsy. The boy was familiar with the weapon and had used it the previous day to go hunting, according to Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters. 

Peters added it was too early to say if the parents of the slain girl would face any potential charges related to leaving the children unattended for the "short period" in which the shooting took place. "It all depends on the facts of the case," and what the investigation reveals, she said.

From another article, questioning the age at which children should be granted:

The shootings are raising a serious question: how young is too young to be introduced to firearms? 

At Wild West Guns in Anchorage they sell lots of firearms that are meant for children.
“Basically they’re just like regular guns,” explained Byran Swanda, a gunsmith at Wild West. 

“They are just scaled down so that smaller people can handle them and use them comfortably.” 

Swanda has no problem with children and guns, and says he got his first rifle when he was three. ... 

But the recent accidental shooting of a two-year-old girl by her five-year-old brother has some asking why a child so young should have a gun, especially a kind manufactured just for children. 

“You can’t provide a child below a certain age a weapon like that, it’s ridiculous said Anchorage resident Bernard Wheeler, who added that he believed the parents in the Kentucky case should be prosecuted. 

Steve Untiet agrees that parents need to assess their child’s maturity. His shop, Alaska Custom Firearms carries the “My First Rifle” in pink, the same kind used in the Kentucky shooting. Untiet bought the same rifle for is daughter when she was young. 

“I started my daughter at four and half, almost five,” said Untiet.”She didn’t get to carry it but she was shooting it. She learned how to operate it, she learned how to load and unload it safely. She was ready but I know kids who are twelve who aren’t ready.” 

In Alaska, children can’t legally buy guns, but their parents can buy guns for them. 

Authorities say it’s up to parents to determine when their child is ready for a firearm, then to teach them how to use it responsibly.

Children and guns don't mix.  It's obvious to anyone other than those immersed in pro-gun culture that children of this young of an age have not yet developed critical thinking and judgement sufficient for safety around lethal weapons, particularly firearms.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

14-year old Alaskan girl injured by two kids with Airsoft pellet gun

A 14-year old girl in Juneau, Alaska, was injured in the face by two boys, ages 11 and 12, using an Airsoft pellet gun.

From an article:

JPD spokesman Lt. David Campbell said the girl suffered a minor injury — swelling near her cheek. 

“That’s where she was hit,” Campbell said in a phone interview. “I don’t know if it was intentional or not.” 

The girl declined medical treatment when contacted by police, Campbell said. 

An 11- and 12-year old boy were suspected of shooting the girl with the BB gun, but the families involved did not want to press charges, Campbell said. 

“It looks like the parents of both groups are handling it,” Campbell said. 

Campbell said the kids all lived in the same neighborhood where the incident took place, the 5900 block of Churchill Way. 

The incident was reported to police at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. More details about how the girl was injured were not immediately available. 

Police took the gun at the request of the parents, who asked that it be destroyed, Campbell said.

Realistic pellet guns aren't just harmless toys.

Alaskan man unintentionally killed when his children discharge his handgun

An Alaskan man, Charles Lamb, living in a country cabin south of Skwentna was chopping wood when he was shot in the torso.  Without the knowledge of him or his wife, their children had gotten hold of his .38-caliber handgun and fired it, hitting him.  Lamb died from his wound.

From an article:

Charles Lamb, 61, died in the Oct. 15 shooting and it remained unclear for about a month who fired the gun and whether the gunfire had been accidental or the result of foul play. On Friday, troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said one of Lamb's children accidentally shot Lamb with a .38-caliber handgun while Lamb split and stacked firewood. 

"The investigation shows that Mr. Lamb's children were inside a blue-tarped wood shed structure on the property while Mr. Lamb was doing chores outside the structure," Ipsen said. "One of the children was handling a small handgun without Mr. Lamb's knowledge when it unintentionally discharged, striking Mr. Lamb in the torso, causing a fatal wound. Mr. Lamb was nearby and out of view of the young child at the time of the shooting." 

Someone notified troopers and an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter flew to the Hiline Lake cabin, west of the Parks Highway about 40 miles across the Susitna Valley. 

Pararescue jumpers loaded Lamb into the helicopter, which flew the injured man to Anchorage. He died at a hospital, troopers said. 

Troopers said Lamb lived at the cabin with his wife and two children. Investigators returned in a trooper helicopter and interviewed the wife and children, Ipsen said. 

Ipsen declined to release the child's age because it would identify the child, who is not charged with any crime. 

"This is traumatic enough for the child and the family to deal with," Ipsen said. "As anyone would expect, it was a very upsetting and painful event for the child and the entire family."

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/11/16/2695488/childs-accidental-shot-killed.html#storylink=cpy

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

4-year old Alaskan boy fires rifle from car, hitting hardware store

A 4-year old child in Wrangle, Alaska, was able to access a loaded 30-06 rifle in a car in a hardware store parking lot.  He discharged the gun, and the round hit the business, going through the wall and into racks of hardware before stopping.  Luckily, no one was injured.

From an article:

According to Wrangell Police Department Lieutenant Merlin Ehlers, officers responded to the store at approximately 1:30 p.m. after a single round was discharged from a vehicle parked in front of the business. Ehlers said a child who had been left unattended fired the round from what he called a “large caliber hunting rifle.” 

According to WPD chief Doug McCloskey, the child involved is 4 years old.
The bullet traveled through at least four inches of wood flooring, entered a box containing more than 30 feet of plastic bilge tubing and came to rest between three layers of cardboard. 

Police have not released the name of the driver of the vehicle, though McCloskey added that the department has referred the case to prosecutors for possible charges. 

Although the store was open for business and shoppers were inside there were no injuries reported.

The article didn't say whether an adult was present in the car at the time.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

9-year Alaska old boy shot and killed by 9-year old friend with high-powered pellet gun

A 9-year old boy was shot and killed by his 9-year old friend, in Pilot Station, Alaska, using a high-powered .17-caliber pellet rifle.

From an article:

On Friday a Pilot Station youth was fatally shot by another youth. According to troopers at about 2 p.m. on Sept. 28 a 9-year-old boy shot another 9-year-old boy in the chest with a high powered .17 caliber pellet rifle. The air rifle had been fired by another 9-year-old boy while the two boys were having an argument. The injured boy was taken to the Pilot Station Health Clinic where CPR was performed, but the boy succumbed to the injuries. Troopers are investigating.

Pellet guns aren't toys.

4-year old gets father's gun and fires it while visiting a Fairbanks pawn shop

A father and his 4-year old son were visiting a pawn shop in Fairbanks, Alaska.  The boy was playing with the 1-year old son of a store employee when somehow the 1-year old got hold of the 4-year old's father's loaded, unsecured .38 Special revolver, then passed it to the 4-year old, who fired a shot.  Luckily, no one was injured.

From the article:

A revolver went off in the hands of a 4-year-old boy who was playing with it Sunday in a South Fairbanks pawn shop, according to Fairbanks police.

The bullet went into the ceiling and no one was hurt, but police are forwarding a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge against pawn shop employee Jaclyn Johnson, 24, to the district attorney's office.

Fairbanks police received a call at 1:21 p.m. from Alaska Fast Cash on the Old Richardson Highway for a report that a boy had fired a Smith & Wesson .38 Special, said Sgt. Bruce Barnett, who did not personally respond to the call but reviewed the report and spoke with an officer who did.

Police responded and spoke with the father of the boy, who said he was at the store talking to an employee when saw his son playing with Johnson’s 1-year-old son.

It was the younger boy who was first in possession of the gun, Barnett said. He then passed it to the 4-year-old.

The boy’s father told police he then heard a loud bang and saw his son was holding a silver gun.

The gun was Johnson’s personal weapon, Barnett said.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

(thanks to the "Guns Are Soooo Great!" blog for the head's up on this one)