Kentucky 5-year-old gets rifle as gift and shoots 2-year-old sister dead

[ashling]

A 5-year-old boy in Kentucky shot and killed his 2-year-old sister on Tuesday while playing with a .22 caliber rifle that he was given as a gift, state police said in a statement.

***

White said that the boy had been given the rifle as a gift last year and that the mother had been at home when the shooting occurred. The rifle was normally kept in a corner of the home, but family members did not realize the gun had been loaded.

“It’s a Crickett,” the coroner explained. “It’s a little rifle for a kid… The little boy’s used to shooting the little gun.”

“Just one of those crazy accidents,” he added.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/01/kentucky-5-year-old-gets-rifle-as-gift-and-shoots-2-year-old-sister-dead/


Just one of those crazy accidents

‘My First Rifle’: 5-Year-Old Brother Accidentally Kills Sister

Update: As of 12:00 p.m., Keystone Sporting Goods had removed the Facebook page for "My First Rifle."

http://www.ibtimes.com/my-first-rifle-5-year-old-brother-accidentally-kills-sister-2-year-old-caroline-starks-kid-friendly

Cumberland County Coroner Gary White identified the gun that was used to shoot Starks as a .22-caliber “My First Rifle,” from a line of youth rifles designed by Crickett, a branch of Keystone Sporting Arms. White said that Starks’ older brother had been given it as a gift last year.

Keystone Sporting Goods shares testimonials from pleased parents and children, as well as a page in its "Kid's Corner" filled with children using the guns.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Crickett-Single-Shot-Rimfire-Rifles/706414.uts

Crickett Single-Shot Rimfire Rifles

A great choice for beginning shooters
Bolt-action single-shot rimfire rifles
Light and easy for youngsters to handle

If you’re looking for a fun firearm to get your young shooter started with, consider these single-shot rimfire options. Each bolt-action model sports a blued barrel and the added safety feature of being able to shoot only one round at a time. This also teaches beginning shooters to make every shot count. All are lightweight and easy for youngsters to carry at the range and in the woods.
Available:

Davey Crickett – Durable synthetic stocks available in pink or black. Target-style peep sights. Weighs just 2.5 lbs. Chambered in .22 LR.

[kelliekat44]

1. No words! nt

[onehandle]

2. I'm getting my little girl a kiddie-sized, pink Meth lab.

It's never too early.

[Control-Z]

3. Fucking stupid people!!

A loaded gun in the hands of a 5 year old - under any circumstance - for any reason - is criminal!!

[RudynJack]

4. That's a high

price to pay for such stupidity. But totally foreseeable.

Fucking idiots.

[KamaAina]

5. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022781954

[hlthe2b]

6. Who could have ever imagined?....

So, had the parents given the child a baggie full of barbiturates, they'd be locked up on manslaughter charges. But, give a five year old a loaded gun and this becomes just a "tragic accident?" Good gawd, what is wrong with our society?

[Baitball Blogger]

7. That wasn't 'one of those crazy things.'

That was an accident waiting to happen.

[Control-Z]

8. It wsn't even an accident.

A loaded fucking gun sitting in the corner? A weapon sized for a child that belongs to the child?? The might as well let the kid play on the freeway.

[randr]

9. I am sick and tired of hearing these incidents refered to as "accidents"

It is out and out child abuse resulting in a death.

[jessie04]

10. " fun firearm ".....yeah, real fun here.

I dont know what scares me more....if the mother has changed her position on guns...or she hasnt.

They should arrest her for murder.

[TroglodyteScholar]

11. I think this highlights the need to put our primary focus...

...on mental health. I'm sure that kid was a ticking time bomb.

[laundry_queen]

12. C'mon now

It was a responsible, law abiding parent simply teaching gun safety to their child. You know, getting them acquainted with firearms is the best way to keep your children safe. Teaching them to hunt gives them something to do after school other than taking drugs and breaking the law. No one could've imagined this.....

[jessie04]

13. Really...

The gun taught him to be"a man"..

Too bad his mother is an absolute dipshit.

[TheMightyFavog]

14. And mom and dad couldn't even verify that a fucking SINGLE SHOT was unloaded?

[lunasun]

15. Good qoute from an ABC article on the killing

Sharon Rengers, a longtime child advocate at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, said making and marketing weapons specifically for children was "mind-boggling."

"It's like, oh, my God," she said, "we're having a big national debate whether we want to check somebody's background, but we're going to offer a 4-year-old a gun and expect something good from that?"

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/coroner-boy-shoots-year-sister-ky-19088572?page=2

[tofuandbeer]

16. Giving a 5 year old a gun as a gift? Of course he/she is going to do damage/harm.

When I was 5, I only recall playing baseball with the glove my grandpa gave me, or riding the purple bike I got for Christmas—not shooting my little sister in the head with the gun my parent's gave me. Christ!