Posted on 10/23/2013 8:45:50 AM PDT by Altariel
A teenage babysitter was arrested Tuesday and charged in the death of a 5-year-old Texas boy who accidentally shot himself with the babysitter's gun while she was napping, authorities said.
Melissa Ann Ringhardt, 19, of Vidor was being held in the Orange County Jail on a felony charge of abandoning or endangering a child, the county sheriff's office said in a statement. She could face a sentence of six months to two years if convicted.
The sheriff's office said Ringhardt, who lives with the boy's family, left her semiautomatic .40-caliber handgun on a coffee table when she went into a bedroom to take a nap Monday afternoon. When she woke up, she couldn't immediately find the boy, identified as John Read, according to the sheriff's office. She eventually discovered him dead in the living room, it said.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.nbcnews.com ...
Do I believe the story? No, no I do not.
The local TV news report said that she was awakened by the gun shot.
Since when do babysitters carry guns? Makes no sense to me.
The kid obviously should have had a gun safety class by that age.
Who takes a nap in another room while babysitting a 5 year old anyway?!
Only these kinds of gun stories are reported by NBC. Defense by gun stories not so much.
Yeah... Her story doesn’t pass the smell test.
Time to check her background to see if she was an Obama lover / voter / supporter. Might have to change the offense to Capital Murder if she did it to further the gun control agenda. Why don’t we ever hear of this happening in conservative’s / ex-vets / firefighter’s home. Why are these acts always committed by looney toon liberals?
one in the pipe...moron
So irresponsible and incredibly careless you have to wonder if drugs and/or boyfriend was involved.
May God welcome that boy into Paradise where he will be truly cared for.
And as for her...
This. As the Father of a 10, 6, and 2 year old... You do not simply wander off for a nap while there are kids still awake themselves.
Nor do you leave a loaded firearm on the coffee table while doing so.
I have plenty of loaded firearms in my house. After all, what use are they unloaded? But, the kids know where they are, that they aren't supposed to touch them, and they are kind of inconvenient for anyone other than an adult to access easily (top of book case, in a safe, in locked cases, quick access storage box, etc...). Even though my older two have already learned the basics, I would still never dream of leaving a loaded gun on the kitchen counter while I wandered off to do whatever...
2-6 years? Yeah... At the minimum.
Who takes a nap in another room while babysitting a 5 year old anyway?!
***
And leaves a gun on the coffee table.
I thought the minimum age for owning a handgun is 18 in Texas, but minimum age for purchasing a handgun is 21. Am I in error?
Actually, she can own the pistol. She just can’t get a license to carry concealed nor can she buy one on her own.
http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-laws/texas.aspx
$20.00 would have saved a life. We carry our nanovault in each car since we have small children. The only loaded gun is either in our pocket, or on our hip. We use the biometric when storing "hot" firearms at home. NEVER leave them out. Prayers for the child and family.
Me too...with the 40 cal
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.