Every year, nearly 3000 children and teens die from gunfire, and nearly 14,000 are injured.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

4 year old Ohio boy shot while sitting in father's car

A 4 year old Akron, Ohio boy was shot and killed by a bullet that came through the roof of his father's car. The story is still unfolding according to this article:
An Akron dad was charged with multiple charges, including involuntary manslaughter after his 4-year-old son was shot and killed on Wednesday, police said.
Terrance Allen, 48, was also charged with child endangering, weapons under disability and tampering with evidence. He was booked into the Summit County Jail on Wednesday.
A Summit County Sheriff's deputy was in the area of South Arlington Street and Davies Avenue when he was flagged down by Allen, according to Lt. Rick Edwards with the Akron Police Department.
The man told the deputy his 4-year-old son, Jamarcus Allen, had been shot in the head inside of a Ford Taurus.
Robert Leslie, who works for a muffler shop, saw the father on the ground, holding the child in his arms.
"All of a sudden, the officer finally yanked real hard, grabbed the baby, ran to the ambulance and the ambulance took off out of here like crazy," Leslie said.
A bullet hole was found in the roof of the car above a rear, passenger seat. Police also found a gun in the car.
The child was transported to Akron Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:31 a.m.  An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
"I'm going crazy about what happened to my baby. I want to know what happened," said Jamarcus's mother, Jamella Allen, 42. Jamarcus loved Batman, Spiderman and football, relatives said.
"He could have been anybody in the world. He was just about to start kindergarten. Who knows what he could have done out here," said Jasmine Palmer, the boy's cousin.
Despite the criminal charges filed against the father, police have not answered the question, who pulled the trigger? Officers said it was possible that the boy got his hands on the gun and accidentally shot himself inside the car.
"This is still an an evolving situation here. We're trying to figure out where it happened, how it happened and what happened," Edwards said.
According to court records, Terrance Allen has a prior felony conviction out of Cuyahoga County for burglary, and therefore, should not own or carry a firearm.
However, Jamella Allen said Jamarcus found a gun hidden in a bathroom wall of their Akron home about a week ago.
Jamella said she questioned Terrance about it, and he informed her that it was a laser gun that he bought at a gun show. Jamella said she told Terrance to get rid of it.
It's not clear if that is the same gun that killed the 4-year-old boy.
Felons should not have easy access to guns. Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

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