Justin Stanfield Thomas
Posted on 06/08/2013 7:41:22 AM PDT by KeyLargo
PD: Boy, 4, accidentally shoots, kills father
by Natalie Brand
azfamily.com
Posted on June 7, 2013 at 4:38 PM
Updated yesterday at 9:53 PM
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. -- A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his father at a home in Prescott Valley Friday, according to a spokesman for the Prescott Valley Police Dept.
Police have identified the victim as 35-year-old Justin Stanfield Thomas of Phoenix, a military veteran who served in the Army Special Forces. Detectives say he and his son were from Phoenix and they were visiting a friend at that home. The boy found a gun in the living room and accidentally shot his father.
"I really can't believe this happened," said Jeremy Hartt, a neighbor and friend of everyone involved. "It's tragic, that poor little boy."
Hartt said he didn't hear the gunshot but saw the aftermath. He said the friend Thomas was visiting is also a military veteran who keeps a loaded gun for protection.
"Apparently when Justin and his little boy showed up, within minutes, the little boy found the gun and said, 'hey, daddy, what's this?' and it went off," Hartt said.
(Excerpt) Read more at azfamily.com ...
Police seem to say that the case is closed and that the gun just went off?
Thoughts?
Justin Stanfield Thomas
It’s hard enough for a 4 year old to raise/trigger pull most guns.
Either way, sounds suspicious. They had better find powder residue on the boy and a fingerprint match on the gun.
Thus would have at least SAID something to a 4 yr old boy ABOUT guns
visiting an equal warrior
And the kid asks; "What's this"?
I don't buy it.
Son of a gun....
“I don’t buy it.”
I’m with you. Something’s not right.
Yes, it doesn’t pass the smell test.
Could this have been a suicide?
Could his buddy have shot him intentionally or unintentionally?
This seems curious to me.It takes a bit of effort to “fire”a handgun.It must have benn”cocked”but not”locked”,and had a “hair-trigger”?This is a VERY careless way to keep a gun handy!
I have no doubt that a 4 year old could do this. My 4 year old grandson certainly could. But he has been trained about firearms.
The problem is letting children into the house when you have loaded weapons.
I don't let my grandchildren into my home. They will be welcome, once they pass the NRA gun safety course.
/johnny
I agree something seems strange about this story.
In any event the firearm should have been secured by the owner as soon as the child entered the owner’s residence.
Anyway I feel sorry for the family and the little son no matter what the outcome.
May the young man RIP.
The kids in this family learn about guns and the strict rules involved while they are being potty trained.
My son is 5 now, but even when he was 4 I taught him never to touch a weapon he finds. He’s on the autism spectrum, but he fully understands, just the same as not to talk to strangers.
This seems so awful. I feel so bad for that child.
"Police said they are investigating Thomas' death as a homicide - as they do anytime someone dies of anything other than natural causes.
"At this point, it does appear that this is just a tragic accident from this child, and we will look to see if there's any negligence issues there," said Prescott Valley police Sgt. Brandon Bonney. "But, at this point, the information we have is it's just a tragic accident that was unforeseen."
For miles from my home, and one hour after a friend stopped by to show me his .380. We understood safety and treated the firearm with respect. Either they were terribly stupid or there is more, much more to the story.
Store where most adults wouldn’t see, find, or reach.
it does sound strange, given the men’s backgrounds and the strnge statement about the child wondering what it was. he would know at 4 what it was, with a military father. and also not to touch it because he would know it was not a toy.
Sure, I get that this father and son may have just showed up at that guy’s house and said guy probably didn’t have time or thought to put away his guns. But what’s with parents letting their kids rummage around in someone’s house? Back in the day, we knew not to go snooping around or messing with what wasn’t ours. I don’t ever remember being told not to play with guns but we just didn’t. But then no one gave guns a second thought unlike today when they are big scary monsters. Again, we didn’t touch what wasn’t ours. If kids didn’t rule the house and if parents actually parented, we wouldn’t be reading about this.
That seems far more likely.
I never believe stories like this. It is very difficult for a small boy or girl to fire either an automatic pistol or a revolver. There is much more to the story than printed.
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