Posted on 12/16/2004 4:10:11 PM PST by Ellesu
CHANDLER, OK. -- A 9-year-old girl was shot while sleeping in her own bed. And her younger brother is the one who pulled the trigger.
It happened just before 8 a.m. Wednesday. The gunman is just 6-years-old.
Sheriff's deputies said the mother's rifle didn't have a lock on it, so all the boy had to do was grab the gun, load it, and shoot it. Luckily, though, he was just a little off the mark.
"My granddaughter is 9-years-old," said Ronny Jones. "We could have buried her today."
It's a wake-up call Ronny and Glenda Jones will never forget. Officers said their grandson, Caleb, used a 22-caliber rifle to shoot their grand-daughter, his sister, Courtney, while she slept.
"When I first heard, I was told she was shot in the head," Glenda Jones said.
According to Chester Duncan, spokesman for the Lincoln Co. Sheriff's Dept., "apparently her 6-year-old brother had went to the mother's bedroom, where a cabinet was located. The 6-year-old then grabbed a hold of the rifle."
Duncan said the boy loaded the gun, then took it to the bedroom where his sister was sleeping, pointed it at her and pulled the trigger.
The bullet went straight through Courtney's left hip. Luckily, it bypassed any of her vital muscle tissues. And it's a good thing the 6-year-old was a bad shot. Ronny Jones said the young boy had two more bullets in his hand and was ready to reload and shoot again.
"The particular gun he used is so old it won't eject any empty shells," Ronny Jones said. "Therefore, you have to take a knife or something and dig the empty shell out before you can reload."
Caleb's grandparents said their grandson seems to have little remorse for what he's done. They're not even sure if he even realizes he nearly used a bullet to end to his sister's life.
"We think he's just maybe playing out his anger," Ronny Jones said. "He's got problems right now because of his father walking out."
Courtney is recovering at Children's hospital. She should be released in the coming days. Courtney's brother, Caleb, will soon undergo extensive counseling.
Aaaaaah, literacy !
So Cobra, are ya a firearms fan by any chance??? :)
"The particular gun he used is so old it won't eject any empty shells," Ronny Jones said. "Therefore, you have to take a knife or something and dig the empty shell out before you can reload."
Absolute idiots. I'm sure the barrel is in no better condition. Aside from all the basic safety precautions, what are they even doing with a gun in this kind of condition? Did they never hear the term 'jam' as in the bullet getting jammed in the corroded barrel and the next shot causing an explosion?
lol!
Makes you wonder what kind of neanderthal wrote the article.
Locking 'em up might deter a 6 year old. But 9 or 12 years olds can often figure out how to get them out anyway. The only answer is education. A 6 year old is not too young to teach both the Eddie Eagle message, and some safe gun handling rules for when their is an adult in attendence. They even make a couple of little bitty .22 rifles sized for kids that young.
Sounds like a broken extractor, easily fixed. Lets blame the kid and parents not the gun.
Sounds to me like its the kids fault.
Locking up guns and triggers locks are just another Anti gun measure pushed by the Anit's.
Those of you who think that you need to lock your guns up to keep them out of the hands of wrong doers are just falling into the anti's hands.
That will work with normal children. From the sounds of this incident, Caleb has a lot more than issues and the message would be wasted on him. Sounds like Caleb needs a lot of time spent in a residential unit lock down ward. If I were his sister I would refuse to go home with him in the house.
This kid isn't ever going be right again (if he was before). No amount of counseling is going to fix it. This girl is doomed if he ever gets to come home. How could you ever sleep again with him around?
http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=74370
another link...Paw Paw broke the gun in half.
This is not about guns being locked or unlocked. This kid is in need of serious help. Notice how they make excuses for him, such as " He is acting out his anger right now " in reference to his father being gone. Why would you shoot your sister because your father walks out. This kid knew what he was doing. Locked up or not, he would have used something else to try to kill his sister. A knife doesn't jam and would have worked quite well for that purpose. He might figure that out next time. By the way, guns in my parents house were never locked up but we knew better than to touch them without supervision. I keep all my ammo locked up, but only because I don't trust other people and their children. Mine our grown now and never thought about shooting anyone. It is a social problem not a gun problem. Little serial killer developing here.
Definately an accident.
Gun locks would have prevented this, loading can sometimes happen spontaneously.
< / sarcasm >
Agree, and I bet little Caleb had already shown some warning signs that he's got a screw loose.
saw it on tv.
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