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.

3 year old Arizona boy finds gun and shoots himself

An Arizona toddler found a gun at home and shot himself with it:

A 3-year-old boy is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the lower torso on Monday afternoon.

Pima County Sheriff's Deputies are continuing to investigate how the toddler got his hands on a loaded weapon in his own home.

Deputies responded to the shooting in the 26000 block of South Monarch Way in Amado just after 12:30 p.m. A helicopter medivacked the toddler to the UAMC Trauma Center.  

"The surgery ended and the 3-year-old child is expected to live and is in stable condition," Deputy Tracy Suitt said.

"This outcome could have been a lot worse," said neighbor Edward Orozco, who was working on his roof at the time of the shooting. (...) 

Most of the neighbors in the rural area of Amado known as Elephant Head own guns, Orozco said. 

"And what do you do to make sure this wouldn't happen to your children?" 9 On Your Side asked Orozco. 

"Everyday I put my gun -- I have a lock -- a safe, I put my gun away," Orozco said.

Keeping guns locked in a safe location is the safety message echoed by the Sheriff's Department.

"We all know that young children are very inquisitive and if they see a weapon they're going to think it is possibly a toy and then there may be an accident like we had today," Suitt said.

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

Two young Arizona children shot to death by father in murder/suicide

Two young children, ages 6 and 8, were gunned down by their father during New Year's Eve, before the father turned the gun on himself, in the Phoenix suburb of Tolleson.

From an article:

Police say Alejandro Gallardo, 45, killed the 6- and 8-year-old girls some time early Wednesday in the Phoenix suburb of Tolleson before he took his own life, the Arizona Republic reports. 

Cops learned of the killings about 10 a.m. Wednesday. 

Neighbors reported hearing fireworks as residents rang in the new year — blasts which may have masked the sounds of Gallardo's sickening slaughter. 

Other neighbors recalled past incidents of domestic violence between a man and a woman at the house. A young girl, of no certain relation to the dead, appears to have stumbled upon the carnage. 

"It was terrified screaming, she was screaming in Spanish over and over again," Brad Haltom told the Republic. "What I got is that she was crying over something. She was crying hysterically."

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Arizona 3 year old finds gun and shoots himself

Another 3 year old is dead from gunshot wounds. This Arizona child found a gun in his house and shot himself in the face:

Police in Arizona say that a toddler accidentally shot himself in the face with his parent’s gun. The 3 year-old boy is dead.

Officer Philip Steele told KVOA  that the shooting occurred on Friday night at the family’s home in Sahuarita, south of Tucson. (...) According to Steele, the parents told investigators the firearm was inadvertently misplaced for a short time, which is when the child found it.

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

3 year old Arizona boy accidentally shoots Dad in the butt while target shooting

A 3 year old Tucson toddler shot his Dad in the butt while the Dad was target shooting in the desert:

A man who was target shooting south of Green Valley was shot in the buttocks by his 3-year-old son Monday.

The man, 36, was target shooting in a desert area southeast of Interstate 19, near the Canoa Road exit shortly before 6:30 p.m., said Tom Louis, battalion chief for the Green Valley Fire District.

The boy shot his father with a .22-caliber rifle, Louis said.

"Fortunately, the patient's injuries were not life-threatening," said Louis.

The child was not injured during the incident, Louis said.

No information was released about how the child got a hold of the rifle.

The man drove himself to the Canoa Road exit and I-19 where he called 911. In addition to firefighters and Southwest Ambulance, deputies of the Pima County Sheriff's Department were dispatched to the scene, said Louis.

The man was treated at the scene and taken by ambulance to University of Arizona Medical Center.

"This incident illustrates the importance of using exceptional caution whenever children are allowed around guns," Louis said.

"It can take only seconds for things to go very badly. Thankfully this incident was relatively minor," he said.

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

 

3 year old shot at an Arizona army post

There is not a lot of information about this shooting. A three year old was shot in a home on an Arizona army base:

A 3-year-old boy is hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the stomach in a housing area at Fort Huachuca (wah-CHOO'-kuh).

A spokeswoman for the southern Arizona Army post says the child was shot Saturday night, but details aren't being released and the child's name hasn't been disclosed.

Tanja Linton says the incident is being investigated by Fort Huachuca law enforcement agencies.

4 year old Arizona boy accidentally shoots and kills father

A four year old boy, visiting a friend in Arizona with his father, found a loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed his father:

Prescott Valley Police say that an adult male was shot by his son Friday afternoon in an accidental shooting.

The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Justin Stanfield Thomas.

Officers responded to a Prescott Valley residence about 12:30 p.m. for a shots fired call. According to PVPD, Thomas' 4-year-old son accidentally shot him.

The boy somehow got ahold of a handgun in the living room and it discharged, hitting his father in the torso.

Thomas was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries where he was pronounced dead.

There was another adult male in the home at the time, but he was not involved in the shooting and has been cleared from suspicion. We've learned that man lived at the home and was a former roommate of Thomas. Thomas and his son were visiting after driving up from Phoenix.

We were told it was an unexpected visit, so that may be why a gun had been left out.

The child was taken to the police substation to undergo interviews. It didn't appear that he realized what he did.

"At this point there is no indication of any foul play," said Prescott Valley Police spokesperson Brandon Bonney. "But again once investigators go through the residence... and fully process it they'll look and see if there's any negligence involved... but it's something we won't know for some time now."

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

Two Arizona toddlers injured by glass in drive-by shooting

A shooting at a car in Arizona left a man dead but his two small children only injured:

A man is dead and two small children are in the hospital after a drive-by shooting in south Phoenix.

It happened shortly after 12:30 Tuesday afternoon. That’s when police say bullets started flying between two vehicles southbound on 20th Place. The crime scene stretched over the course of a quarter mile with shell casings found between Broadway and Roeser.

“One of those vehicles lost control; it is a white Ford Crown Victoria you see in the front yard of a house,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Trent Crump.  “When the driver lost control, because he was shot, he crashed into the block wall, mailboxes, and took out a pillar for the front patio.”

That driver was pronounced dead by firefighters on the scene. Inside that vehicle, in the backseat, officers found two little girls, one just 5 months old, the other two years old. It's unclear how the driver was related to the babies. Neither child was shot.

“They were taken out by witnesses and officers, and transported to the hospital for minor treatments for glass fragments and injuries. But they'll be fine,” said Crump. “We are told the second vehicle involved was also a white Ford Crown Victoria but we don't know if it was occupied by one or two males.”

11-year-old pronounced dead after unintentional shooting

Joan Plumb, age 11

11-year-old Joan Plumb of Casa Grande, Arizona has been pronounced dead after being
unintentionally shot by another child. According at an article:

Deputies arrived on scene, and found 11-year-old Joan Plumb shot accidentally by another juvenile in the home. There were three other children in the home with the girl's father. The children were in the family room of the house when the shooting occurred. 

Joan was rushed to Casa Grande Medical Center where she was stabilized for air transport to the trauma center at Phoenix Children's Hospital. At 10:54 p.m. the doctors pronounced the girl deceased. 

Based upon initial interviews and evidence detectives have determined the shooting appears to have been an accidental discharged of the gun while being handled by a juvenile. 

The case will be submitted to the Pinal County Attorney's Office for review.

Joan's obituary.

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

16-year old Phoenix boy shot and killed while protecting his 14-year old sister

Andrew Murphy, age 16

16-year old Andrew Murphy was a very talented and loved boy in Phoenix, Arizona, who was described as having a big heart.  But when he saw his 14-year old sister was being robbed at gunpoint an 18-year old young man, Andrew rushed to protect her.  Unfortunately, he was shot in the chest and died at the scene, in his sister's arms.

The shooter has been arrested.

From an article:

Andrew was a junior deacon at his church, a member of the youth drama program and had recently served the food to the homeless as part of a community service project.

He was also talented at the piano and could pick up musical pieces just by listening to a tune.

He loved technology and his family would joke that if given the choice, he would choose purchasing the newest electronic device over a plate of food.

At the park that Thursday night, the sister he would give his life to protect rushed to his side after the shot rang out.

She heard him mumbling, but she was able to make out one word, his last word, "Amen."

(a related article).

13-year old Phoenix boy fires handgun next to elementary school

A 13-year old boy who had been suspended from school in Phoenix, Arizona, fired a handgun into the air when he was approached by school staff.  Luckily, no one was injured.  More guns were found in his back yard.

From an article:

A 13-year-old student fired a handgun near a Phoenix elementary school near 38th Avenue and Roeser Road about noon Monday after the student was suspended August 21 for behavioral issues, officials said. There were no reports of injuries. 

On Friday, the boy went to Maurice C. Cash Elementary School, which has students from kindergarten through eighth grade, but personnel were able to get him to leave because he was suspended, according to Phoenix police. 

The student returned again Monday afternoon. While waiting for lunch hour, a member of the school approached the teenager. 

The boy fired two to four rounds into the air near the school property, said Sgt. Trent Crump, a Phoenix Police Department spokesman. No one was injured, officials said. 

The boy ran into the backyard of his nearby home. Police were able to get into the backyard after convincing the residents to allow them in. Police took the boy into custody. Authorities found more firearms in the backyard, Crump said. 

The school was briefly put on lock down.

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

12-year old unintentionally shot by father in Arizona

A 12-year old child was with other children at a party in his home, in Phoenix, Arizona, when the child's father unintentionally shot and wounded the child while handling his gun.  The father then fled the scene.

From an article:

Residents in the area of 3900 S. 3rd Avenue were having a party early Sunday morning that included several children. 

At some point during the party, the father reportedly shot his child while attempting to clear his gun. 

The child was taken to the hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the leg. 

The father fled the scene prior to police arriving and has yet to be located.

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14-year old Arizona boy shoots intruder

In a very rare instance where a child has a defensive shooting, 14-year old boy in Laveen, Arizona was home with his three younger siblings when a man with a rifle invaded his home.  Having seen a strange woman in the yard beforehand, the boy had armed himself with a handgun and shot the intruder, then the children fled and got help.

From an article:

The boy was home with his three siblings, ranging in age from 8 to 12, when he saw a woman they did not recognize at the front of the house around 4:30 p.m. She began pounding on the door, said James Holmes, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The boy went upstairs and got a handgun, police said. A man with a rifle had forced his way into the home. He aimed the gun at the boy, and the boy shot him, police said.

The boy and his three siblings left the house and went to a neighbor's house, where the boy called police and his father, Holmes said.

"He took an action that no police officer, certainly no one in our community, wants a 14-year-old to have to take," Holmes said. "And yet he's safe, his siblings are safe, and so now we have to figure out why this happened and why these people were there."

Police were unsure whether the man and woman were the only two involved. There may have been other accomplices, police said.

The man was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in critical condition, according to Jonathan Jacobs, a Phoenix Fire Department spokesman.

Authorities were still looking for the woman Friday night. A description of the woman wasn't available, Holmes said.

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10-year old girl threatened by gunman in Arizona road-rage incident

47-year old Michael Vigorito got into a confrontation with another driver, in Mesa Arizona.  That's when he pulled out a gun and threatened the three occupants in the other car, including a 10-year old girl.

From an article:

Michael Vigorito, 47, was driving a BMW near Gilbert and McKellips roads in Mesa on Monday night when he got into a confrontation with people in another car, police said. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at three people, one of whom was a 10-year-old girl, police said.

The victims got the license-plate number and identified Vigorito in a photo line-up the next day, according to police.

Vigorito was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Fountain Hills, police said.

He has previously been arrested on suspicion of harassment, according to police reports.

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14-year old boy shot and injured in Surprise, Arizona

A 14-year old boy was shot and injured in the thigh, apparently after an argument with other juveniles, in Surprise, Arizona (in the Phoenix metro area).

From an article:

About 8:00 p.m., police responded to shots fired in the 14500 block of North 132nd Avenue and contacted several residents in the area, Sgt. Norm Owens said. Residents said there had been a large group of juveniles fighting and possible gunshots were heard, he said.

Police discovered several shell casings in the park area but did not find any juveniles there, he said.

A short time later, police received a call from the 14-year-old gunshot victim, who was located near the 14100 block of North West Grand Avenue, Owens said. The victim was found with a single gunshot wound to his upper left thigh and was transported by ambulance to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, he said.

He is in stable condition.  No arrests have yet been made.
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Toddler shot in Arizona home

A toddler was one of the victims in this strange shooting in an Arizona home. One of the victims in this shooting was a Neo-Nazi militia member. From the article:

Upon arrival, first responders believed the toddler, who was between one and 2-years-old, showed signs of life. She was transported to a children’s hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, Balafas said.

Two handguns and a shotgun were recovered from the crime scene. Balafas said investigators had obtained a search warrant Wednesday evening and a bomb squad was sweeping the house for precautionary reasons.

Law enforcement agents had been nervous about Ready, according to a 2010 story by the Associated Press. He led a militia group that focused on nabbing undocumented immigrants and drug traffickers along the Mexican border. He was also heavily armed and a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi.

“These are explicit Nazis,” Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project told the AP. “These are people who wear swastikas on their sleeves.”

Whatever happened in this incident, another very small child is dead. Too many children die from gunshot injuries every day in our country. Surely we will learn more about this case as more details emerge.

Here is a related article about this story:

Five people died in a shooting Wednesday at a Phoenix-area home, where the investigation is being slowed by concerns there could be hazardous materials in 55-gallon drums in the backyard.

The shooter is among the dead, police said, although they're not yet certain whether he killed himself. Police haven't identified him or the victims.

The bodies — including that of a toddler — are still in the home in the city of Gilbert southeast of Phoenix. Officials are testing an unknown liquid in drums in the backyard as a precautionary measure.

At a briefing for reporters, Gilbert police Sgt. Bill Balafas said all the evidence points to the shooting being related to domestic violence. He didn't elaborate. Officers have recovered two handguns and a shotgun.

From another related article:

Authorities have not identified the other victims, but reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Hugo Mederos said the victims were his ex-wife, Lisa; their daughter, Amber; Amber's boyfriend, whose name The Republic is withholding until his next of kin could be notified, and Amber's 18-month-old baby, Lilly.

Mederos, who lives in Tampa, said Ready lived at the home with his girlfriend, Lisa.
Ready was a former Marine who headed the U.S. Border Guard, a militia-style group that routinely performed armed patrols in the southern Arizona desert. Early this year, Ready had formed an exploratory committee for a run as Pinal County sheriff.

In a statement of organization filed Jan. 11, Amber Mederos was listed as treasurer of the Committee to Elect J.T. Ready. Her name was nowhere to be found in amended paperwork filed March 12.

Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Bill Balafas said the gunman's motives is unknown. Authorities recovered two handguns and a shotgun from the scene, Balafas said.

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15-year old Arizona boy shot in leg during "suicide by cop" attempt

A 15-year old boy in Surprise, Arizona, near Phoenix, apparently called for police and then appeared to them with a rifle when they responded.  He raised the weapon, in an apparent "suicide by cop" attempt, and was shot at least once in the leg.

From the article:

Shortly after 9 a.m., police received an emergency call about a person with a rifle who was in the backyard of a house.

Based on evidence on scene and statements made by the teen, they determined he was the one who called police and requested an officer, police say.

Two officers arrived and were immediately "confronted" by a juvenile holding a rifle, Anzini said.

The officers repeatedly told the teenager to drop the weapon. The teenager, who lives at the residence, ignored the officers' commands. The youth eventually pointed the rifle at the officers, Anzini said. The officers fired at him and struck the teen at least once. It is unclear how many times he was shot, the police spokesman said.

The teeanger was taken to John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital, Fire Department spokeswoman Renee Hamblin said.

An adult male, who may be an older sibling of the teenager, was home at the time of the shooting, police say.

The police say it is unclear whether or not drugs or alcohol may have been involved in the incident.

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

Gun found at school in San Tan Valley, Arizona - second time in a week

For the second time in a week, a gun has been found at a school in San Tan Valley, Arizona.  The first had been an Airsoft pellet gun.  The second was a real one.

From the article:

According to Dana Hawman, Director of Public Relations, an older model black Monte Carlo drove through the school parking lot at 2:55 p.m. Wednesday.

Three baseball players reported hearing a student say he saw someone in the car holding a gun. They told a school administrator, who called 911.

Pinal County deputies stopped the car and arrested the person inside, who did indeed have a gun.

No shots were ever fired and no one was hurt.

"Our thanks go to our students who did the right thing by reporting the incident, and to the Sheriff's department for their quick action. Student safety is of utmost importance, and the actions today prove that it is a collaborative effort and priority for all," stated Hawman.

Two teens brought a realistic BB gun to school at San Tan Valley, Arizona

Two teens, ages 15 and 16, brought a realistic-looking Airsoft BB gun to school.  One boy was already on suspension, the other wasn't a student there.

From the article:

Two male juveniles, ages 15 and 16, were questioned and searched. A search of the grounds was conducted and a school security guard located an air-soft gun in the parking lot. A knife was not found.

The 15-year-old was serving a suspension and not supposed to be at school. The 16-year-old was not enrolled at the school. They were arrested.

No one was hurt and the school was taken off lockdown.

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

Man fires rifle at Arizona high school and injures teen

A teenager in Willcox, Arizona, was wounded by shattered glass after a man, Arthur J. Tineo, fired a rifle shot into Willcox High School from a field across from the school.  The motive for the shooting is unknown.


From the article:

a man fired a rifle into Willcox High School, leaving a teenage boy wounded as he watched a baseball game, police announced. 

Shortly after the incident, Arthur J. Tineo was arrested. The weapon he used was found about a block away from the scene of the shooting, according to Willcox Dept. of Public Safety Chief Jake Weaver. 

A motive for the incident remains unknown. 

The Huffington Post reports the incident was reported by someone who called 911 about a man in a field across from the high school. The entire area was placed on lock down immediately after the shooting. 

The student wounded in the attack sustained minor cuts from window that shattered in the car he was riding in. No other injuries were reported, according to the Post.

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