Posted on 12/05/2008 7:40:24 PM PST by atomic conspiracy
BECKLEY A 3-year-old Raleigh County boy was fatally shot by his father as the two were playing a game that involved a shotgun, police said.
Gary Wayne Garretson, 44, of Coal City is being held at Southern Regional Jail on charges of death of a child by parent by child abuse. His bond was set at $500,000.
Raleigh County Deputies were called to Garretson's Coal City Road home Saturday afternoon where they found the toddler, identified as Anthony Garretson, already dead, according to a complaint filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court.
The boy had been shot in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the complaint.
Gary Garretson told deputies that he did not know the shotgun was loaded when he pointed it in his son's direction and pulled the trigger, the complaint said.
Garretson told police "he had done this in the past as a bit of a game with his son, saying that he was going to get him," the complaint said.
The toddler would respond, "You can't get me, daddy," according to the complaint.
Officials from the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department have not released any other details.
Deputies said no one else was in the home when the shooting occurred.
Garretson does not have an attorney listed, according to the county magistrate's office.
I read this story elsewhere earlier in the week. Honestly, I don’t believe the father’s story at all.
Charge the thug with murder.
need i say what everyone who owns a gun is thinking... you treat EVERY gun as if it is loaded, and you don’t point ANY gun at anything you don’t intend to kill. PERIOD. There was no excuse for this tragedy.
Nope.
Even if he’s telling the truth it should be prosecuted as premeditated murder just because the guy is stupid enough to be a danger to those around him.
On second thought I deleted my own reply. Was not horrible, but not too kind, either.
What you said. It’s the first thing my father taught me.
I don't treat EVERY gun as if it were loaded. I make it a habit to check any gun that I pick up, or is handed to me to see if it's loaded. If not, then I can relax with it. If I don't know whether or not a gun is loaded, I treat it as if it is.
Looks like daddy "got him".
This man should be sterilized, at the very least. He doesn’t even have the intelligence to care for a pet, let alone raise a child.
You can never 'relax' with a gun.
Rule #2 Don't play with guns.
Even if you are SURE the gun is not loaded, CHECK AGAIN.
If he’s lying, throw the book at him. And in any case, if he has any sort of conscience he has to live with the knowledge that a stupid game resulted in the death of his own child. If it were me, that would be worse than any punishment the judicial system could prescribe.
After that, they can strap him to a gurney and stick a needle in his arm.
wth
People who abuse weapons should not be allowed to own them.
There is no right to endanger everyone else. His own kid geez what an imbecile. What kind of man points a real gun at a kid?
People keep on saying that and then start arguing over semantics. It goes without saying, you should find out if your gun is loaded or not, not only for safety but also so that you know exactly what you need to do in order to fire it.
I believe what's important is his second admonition. Never point a gun (loaded or unloaded) at a person whose life you do not intend to threaten!
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