3 year old and 14 year old Rochester, New York kids hit by "stray" bullets

Two children have been hit by bullets in a Rochester, New York neighborhood. From the article:

The 3-year-old boy who was wounded Monday appears to be an unintended victim of the two shootings that occurred Monday night on Fennimore Avenue, but the same cannot be said of the teen who was wounded, police said today.

“It appears the 14-year-old may’ve been the intended target and that the 3-year-old was struck possibly by a stray shot,” Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said.

The 3-year-old and 14-year-old, whom relatives identified as Jamal Sanders, remain in critical but stable condition at Women and Children’s Hospital. The 3-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. The 14-year-old suffered wounds of the neck, back and one leg.

They lived across the street from each other. The shooting apparently happened in a driveway.

3 year old South Carolina boy shot at his home

A 3 year old South Carolina child was shot in his home. No details yet as to the cause of the shooting. As we write so often on this blog, children gain access to unsecured guns in homes far too often.

20 guns found in home of 3 year old Arizona boy who shot himself in March

Arizona officials have released information that 20 guns were found in the Arizona home where a 3 year old toddler shot himself in the stomach. From the article:

Detectives found 20 unsecured guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition throughout the home of the family of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in the abdomen March 3, according to reports released last week.

The boy, who survived the shooting, was flown to a Tucson hospital where he underwent surgery.

The case is being referred to the Pima County Attorney's Office, according to a Pima County Sheriff's detective. The boy's parents, Don and Sharina Marion, have not been arrested or charged. Don Marion is the volunteer fire chief for Elephant Head Fire Department.

The boy apparently pulled a small chair up to a counter where his mother was working on a laptop computer, saw the .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol there and shot himself, according to reports. The gun was in an ankle holster with the trigger exposed “and could easily be pulled by almost anyone,” according to a report. (...) 

Sheriff's detectives obtained a search warrant for the house in Elephant Head and found 20 guns along with boxes, cans and bags of ammunition in several rooms. The weapons included shotguns, rifles, a Ruger and a Colt .45 handgun in a holster affixed to the headboard in the master bedroom. The family owns a gun safe where several weapons were found but it was not locked, according to the report. One of the couple's four children told detectives he knew the safe was not locked; another said his father “did not remember the combination to the safe.”

Most of the weapons in the house were not loaded; several had rounds in the chamber and others had rounds in magazines, according to the report.

Sharina Marion told a detective she wasn't aware that there were unsecured guns in the home and indicated she believed the gun safe was locked. The family said the pistol in the shooting was usually kept atop a kitchen cupboard, out of reach of the couple's children, and said it must have fallen.

The Marions told detectives they taught their children, ages 3, 7, 9 and 10, firearms safety, and that they knew the guns were for protection and only to be accessed in an emergency with parental approval. They said all the children had fired guns, including the 3 year old, on a "church shoot" the day before the incident with several members of their church. The toddler pulled the trigger but did not handle the gun alone, according his parents.

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

15 year old California boy shot and killed

A 15 year old California teen was shot and killed near his home:

Family and friends of 15-year-old Luis Angel Zavaleta-Rios are devastated after police say he was shot and killed on the sidewalk in front of a park just one block from his home.

His father says many friends had just attended his son's 15th birthday party on Friday. And were shocked to learn of his death Thursday morning when they showed up for class at Merced Valley Community School.

About two dozen of his friends and classmates stopped by the park to leave flowers and light candles in Zavaleta's honor. They say the freshman was a good student who was passionate about construction. He also loved the sport of boxing, and was a member of a competitive club downtown.

Minnesota teen brings guns to school in plot to kill parents and students

A 17 year old Waseca, Minnesota teen brought several guns to his school in a plan to kill his parents and then students in his school.  Luckily, his parents turned him into the school authorities. From an article:

John David LaDue had it all figured out. He would kill his mother, father and sister and then create a diversion to keep first responders busy while he went to Waseca Junior/Senior High School to wreak havoc.

There, the 17-year-old planned to set off pressure-cooker bombs full of nails and metal ball bearings in the cafeteria. Students who weren’t maimed or killed would be gunned down in the halls, he told police.

After his arrest Tuesday, the high school junior said he intended to kill “as many students as he could,” before he was killed by the SWAT team, according to charging documents filed in Waseca County District Court.

LaDue was charged Thursday with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree damage to property and six counts of possession of a bomb by someone under 18. Police found seven firearms and at least six completed bombs in his bedroom and in the storage unit where he was arrested.

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

5 year old Minnesota boy brings gun to school

A Benson, Minnesota kindergarten student brought a gun to school:

A kindergartner brought a gun to school in Swift County Tuesday morning, and authorities are investigating now to find out how such a thing could have happened.

No one was hurt in the incident at Northside Elementary school and everyone -- from the other students to teachers to law enforcement -- acted quickly to get the gun away from the young child.

Around 8 a.m., students alerted a teacher that the child, who police say is about 5 years old, had brought a weapon into the school building. The teacher quickly confiscated the gun.

Benson Police Chief Ian Hodge said there is no reason to believe that the kindergartner intended to cause any harm, although police are withholding details -- including where the gun came from and whether it was loaded -- while the investigation is ongoing.

"The child has no intent to harm anyone," Hodge said.

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

3 year old Wisconsin toddler shoots self with mother's gun

Unfortunately there has been another toddler shooting. A Milwaukee, Wisconsin 3 year old found a gun in his mother's car and shot himself. From an article:

Three-year-old Kevin Donald shot himself with a gun while playing in his mother's car. Police say the toddler found the gun hidden in the glove compartment. The family tells us the boy is still being treated at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Doctors are waiting for the swelling of the head to go down before doing surgery. Now the family is focusing on why a gun was being kept in that car.

Donald's grandmother and aunt both say this could have been prevented. The boy's mother is saying she kept the gun inside the car for protection purposes. Brittany Petersink, the boy''s aunt, told our Sandra Torres, "This is Milwaukee. This is the ghetto...anywhere you go there's someone trying to take something from you."

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