5 year old New Hampshire boy shoots himself with gun belonging to parent

A 5 year old New Hampshire boy was "playing with a gun" at 2:30 a.m. and shot himself in the lower extremity. From an article:

The couple told officers the child was playing with a handgun, which belongs to Bishop.

The child was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the Elliot Hospital after the shooting was reported at 2:30 a.m. at 420 Spruce St., police said.

Police said the injuries were to the child's lower extremity.

Manchester police seized the .22-caliber handgun and said the incident is under investigation.

And further, the owner of the gun has issued an unusual public statement criticizing people who have made comments about the incident, stating that the incident was an "ACCIDENT".

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

Distraught New Hampshire man shoots his 9 year old son

A man distraught over custody and the death of his brother shot and killed his 9 year old son in New Hampshire:

A man who gunned down his 9-year-old son at a New Hampshire YWCA before killing himself was struggling with the death of his brother and a bitter custody battle, his rabbi said.

Muni Savyon, 54, and son Joshua Sayvon were together for a supervised visit with an adult monitor at the center in Manchester when Sayvon pulled out a handgun, shot his boy and then himself, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

Manchester cops raced to the neighborhood shortly after 10 a.m. following reports of gunfire. They discovered the bodies of father and son inside.

Three New Hampshire teen boys discover a loaded gun tossed into weeds

Three teen boys, ages 13, 14, and 15, were playing ball when they discovered a loaded gun in weeds, in Lawrence, New Hampshire.  All three handled the gun before a parent was alerted.  Luckily no one was injured.

The gun had apparently been tossed there by suspects being chased in a vehicle by police a couple nights earlier.

From an article:

The Walther P22 handgun with a loaded magazine was found at 9 p.m. Sunday by the three boys, ages 13, 14 and 15. The gun’s safety was in the off position, meaning it was ready to fire, according to a police report. 

Police believe the gun may have been tossed in an overgrowth of brush and weeds in front of 4 Conduit St. after shots were fired at police officers on Sunday, June 16.  .... 

Sunday night, the boys playing on Conduit Street told officers the ball ended up in the overgrown grass and weeds. One boy went to fetch the ball and found the loaded gun in the overgrowth. He, his friends and two adults all touched the handgun. “All parties at that time were somewhat unsure if this firearm was real,” Quaglietta wrote. One boy’s parents took the gun up to their apartment and contacted police. 

The gun was slightly rusty in some spots and had a white discoloration in another spot.
“It should be noted that some of the rust spots on the gun could be from the fact that it had rained for the past several days while the gun was laying outside exposed to the elements,” Quaglietta wrote.

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

11-year old New Hampshire boy brandishes an assault rifle at a statehouse pro-gun rally

An 11-year old boy, who took part in a pro-gun rally at the New Hampshire statehouse, was seen brandishing an AR-15 assault rifle, along with a pro-gun flag.

From an article:

Organized by the Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC, the "Honor Your Oath" rally charged that lawmakers who voted to repeal the state's "Stand Your Ground" law last month violated their oaths of office and should be impeached, according to the Union Leader. The rally organizers said the event was not "gun rally."

But that didn't stop 11-year-old Hunter Cogswell of Concord from bringing an AR-15 and a big white flag with black lettering: "Come and Take It." 

The boy said he was there to "stand up for gun rights." 

"I believe in gun rights. It's our constitutional right," he said, adding the gun was real but "not loaded."

As TPM reported Saturday, the New Hampshire State House was closed due to a "threat relative to possible violence" received by police and an email sent out to lawmakers around 3 p.m., shortly after the rally ended.

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

10-year old New Hampshire boy hunter unintentionally shoots man in arm

Two boys were hunting dear with an adult near Auburn, New Hampshire, when one of them, age 10, unintentionally fired his .22 rifle, hitting the adult in the arm.  The injury is non-fatal.

From an article:

Maniscalchi was hunting in the Dearborn Road area Saturday morning when he was hit in the forearm with a .22-caliber bullet. 

Officials said he was sitting in a ground blind with two young boys, when a 10 year-old boy carrying a .22 caliber handgun inadvertently discharged the firearm inside the blind. 

Maniscalchi was able to walk himself out of the woods and drove to the Elliot Hospital in Manchester for treatment and evaluation. After being treated for his wound, Maniscalchi was released from the hospital later in the day.  

Following a call from the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, personnel from the Auburn Police Department and Fish and Game Conservation Officers responded to the hospital and to the scene of the shooting to investigate the incident.  

Conservation officers worked through the morning and into the afternoon and were able to identify the specific locations of the shooter and victim, and secured all necessary evidence and information.  

Fish and Game officials urge people to practice caution and safety when handling firearms.

From a related blog post at the Ohh Shoot blog:

There is no minimum age for youth hunting in New Hampshire. Youths under age 16 must be accompanied by a licensed adult hunter. There is also no required hunter education or gun safety course requirements for youth hunters under age 16.

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

Concealed gun found in baby carriage

Here's a new twist- hiding your concealed guns in your child's baby carriage. This New Hampshire couple thought that was a good idea, until they got caught. From an article about the incident:

The officers were investigating a report of an assault made by two men who claimed someone they knew only as "John" demanded money and hit one of them in the face with a gun when they refused, the Manchester Union-Leader reported.

The police tracked down the suspect, who turned out to be Bijoel, 28, and approached him while he was walking his daughter with Gagnon, 23, according to WBZ-TV.

When the police approached, she took control of the carriage and attempted to walk away but the trio was ultimately detained without incident, Manchester police told the station.

"Further investigation lead to the recovery of a loaded 9mm handgun from the storage area of the carriage located under the child's seat," Manchester police Lt. Maureen Tessier told MyFoxBoston. "The gun was later determined to have been stolen."

Bijoel is accused of armed robbery with a stolen handgun with bail set at $65,000 cash-only. In addition, a probable cause hearing is set for Aug. 1 to explore possible felony charges of armed robbery, theft by unauthorized taking of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm, the Union-Leader reported.

9-year old New Hampshire boy shot in the head in his home

A 9-year old boy in Hollis, New Hampshire, was found shot in the head in a bedroom of a home, from a small-caliber handgun.

From the article:

A 9-year-old New Hampshire boy was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after sustaining an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Hollis Police say they arrived to a home on Runnells Bridge Road around 9:30 Friday morning on reports of a child shot. Upon arrival, police found the boy in a bedroom unconscious and unresponsive from a gunshot wound that appeared to be caused by a small caliber handgun.

The unidentified child was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua and later flown to Massachusetts General for additional treatment. His condition is unknown.

Investigators could not release any further details on Friday night.

From another article:

Pat Holt, who owns Holt Lumber Yard as well as the home where the shooting occurred, said she was worried for the young boy, who she described as a happy and energetic child. The boy’s father, she said, is “very nice.”

“Not good,” Holt said. “I’m worried this is something serious. He comes down here to visit me. He’s a little boy, an active boy who gets into everything.”

Did this homeowner just blame the boy for getting hold of her unsecured gun?

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

15-year old New Hampshire boy brings .22 rifle to school

A 15-year old boy, who had run away from home, brought an unloaded .22-caliber rifle to school with him and hid it in the bushes. 

From the article:

A 15-year-old Manchester West High School student was taken from school to the Police Department on Monday morning after admitting to officials that he hid an unloaded .22-caliber rifle in the bushes outside the school, Manchester police told News 9.

The teen's parents reported him as a runaway at 5 a.m., according to police. The parents told police a weapon and some electronics were missing from the house, police said. 

Police said when they arrived at West High School, the teen was in the guidance counselor's office. Police said there is no indication that the teen had any intention of shooting the weapon at school and stressed that no ammunition was found either near the weapon or on the student.

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

12-year old boy threatened by New Hampshire man with realistic BB gun

Ray Ellis, 49, of Laconia, New Hampshire, was at a playground next to a school with his 13 and 16-year old children, when a 12-year old boy started picking on his kids.

Ellis confronted the boy, getting into a heated argument, and told the boy he was a "dead man."  Ellis then went to his car and got out a realistic-looking BB gun.  Naturally, this terrified all the kids at the playground.

He was a previously law-abiding citizen.

From the article:

Ellis allegedly got into a confrontation with a 12-year-old identified as C.K. and at one point reportedly stated that C.K. was a "dead man," according to a police affidavit.

John Reynolds and a friend were playing basketball with some neighborhood kids. He said he saw the whole incident take place. 

"He comes over, gets right in the kid's face, and the kid is like 12 years old -- a lot shorter than him," Reynolds said. "He starts swearing at him, and he goes, 'You're a dead man.'" 

After the confrontation escalated, Ellis reportedly went to his car. Police said he pulled a BB gun out, showed it, but did not point it at anyone. 

Reynolds said he saw Ellis pull something from his glove compartment. 

"I see a black object come out. I can see a trigger, a barrel, and i think, 'Pistol,'" Reynolds said. 

Reynolds said the sight sent the kids into a panic.

....
Ellis does not have a criminal background.

.

Follow up to 14 year old New Hampshire boy who shot himself in school cafeteria

A school shooting affects the entire community in which it happens. In a small New Hampshire town, a 14 year old boy shot himself in an alleged attempted suicide in front of his peers in the school cafeteria. We wrote about it previously. Now the whole town is trying to deal with this tragedy. This article highlights how difficult it is to come to terms with something so senseless and violent.

A 14-year-old student at the school, which serves grades 5 through 8, shot himself in the cafeteria yesterday as his peers looked on. The student, who relatives and residents identified as Hunter Mack, remains hospitalized. His condition was reported as serious on Friday, but officials today declined to give an update.

“It certainly has been a tragedy for us,” said Fall Mountain Regional School District superintendent Debra Livingston. “We’re healing. We’re a very close-knit community, and we respect the people that have offered us their thoughts.”

Further, the investigation continues as to how something like this could have happened. Finding explanations may lead to some thought provoking discussion about how children get their hands on guns in the first place.

Heed said he could not discuss how Mack obtained the gun and that it was too early to speculate about whether charges could be filed in the case.

David Edkins, who moderates the district’s annual school meeting, said the family was well-known in Walpole, a town of 3,700 residents, where “everybody knows everybody.”

“It’s absolutely tragic,” Edkins said. “They’re a longtime Walpole family, been there for several generations at least.”

Edkins said Hunter was a “nice kid,” and that the family enjoyed hunting.

“The old-time New England families, they learn to hunt early,” Edkins said. He called the family “responsible hunters.”

It is clear from our first story about this incident that this boy was having problems with depression. That, too, should be part of the community discussion. Mental illness in children and teens and guns do not go together. Attempts to deal with these issues can not be separated from each other.

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

14 year old boy shoots himself in face at school in front of friends

How could this be worse? A 14 year old New Hampshire boy shot himself in the face in the school cafeteria with friends looking on. From the story:

Ethan Symonds, a seventh-grader who was sitting at a table near the boy in the cafeteria, said he heard something "a little bit louder than a chip bag popping." He said he did a double-take, saw blood, and ran.

Seventy of the school's approximately 170 students were in the cafeteria at the time. Nick Phillips, an eighth-grader in the student's home room, said he had been passing notes during the week saying he was depressed, but it wasn't clear why.

The boy is in serious condition. His friends and the school must be traumatized. There are problems with children and teen depression all over our country. When that is combined with easy access of guns, it can lead to tragedy. Every gun in the hands of a child first goes through the hands of an adult.

UPDATE (2/12/12):  A follow-up posting.