120 kids shot since Sandy Hook

Others are noticing what the contributors to this blog have been writing about. There seems to be an awful lot of kids shooting kids or themselves in mostly accidental shootings. An article we found in the New York Daily News documents the number of shootings since Sandy Hook last December. There is a lot here to digest. Here is just one section of the article:

In the almost seven months since Adam Lanza’s demented slaughter of 20 Sandy Hook Elementary first-graders and six adults, at least 40 more children age 12 and under have died from accidental shootings across the United States, according to data compiled by the Daily News.

Those numbers do not include children killed by adults. Add those tragedies in, and about 120 innocents ages 12 and under have been killed by guns since Newtown.

These shootings took place in 17 states from Alaska to Florida, in rural counties and big cities alike. Six accidental shootings killed kids in Ohio and another five in Texas, where about 36% of residents have a gun in the home. Nationally, about 35% of homes contain at least one gun.

“First and foremost, appreciate the fact that bringing a firearm into the home has the potential to kill somebody,” says Daniel Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Be aware of the true nature of youth, which includes the curiosity to play with something they find and also consider the impulsivity of suicide. Marry the risks of the behavior of kids and the danger of firearms and it should lead you to prevent kids from having access to guns.” (...) 

Gun locks could help prevent these tragedies, says one such advocate, Bill Brassard, a spokesman from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Since 1999, more than 36 million gun locks have been given away free through the NSSF’s Project Childsafe, Brassard said.

But a long-term solution for a long-term problem hasn’t surfaced. Gun locks are only “the first line of defense,” said Brassard, who also urges gun owners to invest in other gun storage options such as keypad or biometric lockboxes.

“The gun owner needs to know who in their household should have access to firearms and to take steps to prevent those who shouldn’t from being able to acquire that access,” Brassard said. “It’s about keeping guns out of the wrong hands.”

As we always say, every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Minnesota father of 4 year old who shot brother accidentally found guilty

Minnesota is a state with a Child Access Prevention Law. A father has now been found guilty of leaving a loaded, unsecured gun where his 4 year son found it and then shot his brother:

The grieving father knew he made mistakes that allowed his 4-year-old son to find an unsecured handgun and shoot and kill his younger brother. Still, he maintained that what happened was an accident, not a crime.

It’s why he rejected several plea deals from prosecutors that likely would have kept him out of prison in exchange for admitting to a felony. Xiong took his case to trial, trusting a jury to see things the way he did.

The strategy failed Friday when a jury convicted him of two felony counts of second-degree manslaughter and two gross-misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, leaving Xiong stunned and facing a possible four-year prison sentence. His mother wailed and his brother cursed the judge and jury as deputies led him away. Members of the jury quietly walked out of the courtroom, brushing tears from their eyes.

Xiong was acquitted of a third gross- misdemeanor child endangerment count.

It was a dramatic end to an emotionally wrenching case that began when Neegnco, 2, was shot in the chest on Dec. 5, 2012, by his older brother, who was playing with a loaded handgun in an upstairs bedroom while their parents were downstairs making lunch.

He died at the scene.

“Our position is this has always been an accident, and it has never been about manslaughter,” said his attorney, Steve Meshbesher, adding that a juror told him he was sorry. “What does that tell you? It tells me a mistake was made in the courtroom.” (...) 

The gun was one of eight that police found in Xiong’s south Minneapolis home, where the family’s four children lived.

Meshbesher countered that the gun was safely hidden between the headboard and the mattress in a holster, and although loaded, it was not likely to be found by the 4-year-old.

The conviction calls for four years in prison under state guidelines, although Judge Daniel Moreno will make the final decision when Xiong is sentenced June 27. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that the case is the fourth in recent years involving a child hurt or killed by a gun carelessly left out by a father or other male and that there was little hesitation when it came to charging Xiong.

“We need to send messages,” Freeman said. “We’re not looking for profound penalties for these people. We’re looking for messages: Don’t keep loaded handguns accessible to kids.”

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