6-year-old boy shoots younger sister, 4. In the head. With a shotgun.

[Robb]

A 6-year-old boy shot his 4-year-old sister in the head with a shotgun Friday morning in the town of Alma, Wis., according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

The girl is being treated at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. Her condition was not available Friday.

“She’s very lucky given what happened,” Sheriff Duane Waldera said.

The boy found the loaded weapon, pointed it at his sister and shot her, the department stated. Staff at Black River Memorial Hospital called police about 9:30 a.m.

Read More: http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_c7717b04-11dd-11e3-9edc-0019bb2963f4.html

Not nearly a rare enough occurrence, thank goodness she will live.

On the plus side, since this is Wisconsin, the sheriff seems to think criminal child neglect and keeping a loaded firearm within reach of a child charges are possible. On the minus side, neither are likely to be felony charges, so the gun will probably stay in the home.

[liberal N proud]

1. That boy could become Vice President some day.

As it is, this is just another tragic, needless case of gun violence.

Children shooting children, I am told this is a small price to pay so the gunnuts can have and hold their beloved guns.

[gopiscrap]

2. This country is fucked up

[giftedgirl77]

3. How in the hell does this shit keep happening?

What is wrong with people that the just leave weapons out or within accessibility of kids. Not to mention LOADED... This is the type of crap that should have mandatory investigations & sentencing guidelines.

[avebury]

5. Because in almost all cases there are never any legal consequnces for incidents

like this. The NRA, Federal & State Governments, and the responsible gun owners are not out there taking on the idiotic irresponsible gun owners and that makes them all look bad. It reminds me of the out of control cops who abuse their authority. You really don't see City/Town Government, police forces, and the good cops getting the bad cops off of the streets.

You would think that an adults natural tendency to protect children would result in the adults taking action to safeguard children from being harmed by guns but that is not what is taking place by these idiotic gun owners. If people don't love children enough to safeguard them from harm and there are no legal consequences to events like this then there is nothing to force people to change.

Stories like this are no longer news they are just a fact of life in the USA.

[giftedgirl77]

8. It's disturbing isn't it?

The dumb shit people get thrown in jail for, yet somehow a child getting access to and harming someone else with a firearm doesn't raise an eyebrow.

[avebury]

4. I am shocked I tell you shocked!

NOT!


Well that gun ownership situation turned out well.

[petronius]

6. There really ought to be criminal charges, applied consistently across space

as well as racial and wealth boundaries, for letting an unsupervised child access a firearm (particularly when harm results). Leaving a gun in a place that you know might reasonably be accessed by a child is a deliberate choice, a willful action, and it's certainly a negligent one.

There are a lot of circumstances in which children come to harm due to a mistake, accident, or negligence on the part of an adult. For example, leaving a kid around pets, around a pool, or in a hot car. It's often a debate - and sometimes a difficult one - as to whether charges should be filed. If I was drawing a line, I think I'd say that charges are more appropriate when the harm-causing circumstance results from a direct decision: choosing to leave the kid in the hot car*, choosing to leave the kid alone by the pool, or choosing to leave the gun in the kid-space...

* This one I think is most charge-worthy, because once you've done the leaving the outcome is pretty much deterministic.

[surrealAmerican]

7. Is it that easy to fire a shotgun ...

... or is some adult lying here?

[billh58]

9. Another responsible gun

owner exercising his Second Amendment rights to leave his gun loaded and unattended within reach of a 6-year old. According to NRA supporters, teaching gun safety to children in pre-school is the logical remedy to reduce the number of regrettable, but unavoidable, accidents such as this.

[bunnies]

10. Robb,

You are definitely NOT a dingbat. Thanks for posting these things.

[Squinch]

12. +1

[Politicalboi]

11. There MAY be charges

Too bad they didn't find a joint laying around. Then there WOULD be charges. Living in a world where you may go to jail for giving access to your gun to a child, and where there would be charges and maybe even property confiscation over weed.

[Ilsa]

13. This little girl is lucky to have stupid careless parents

that leave a loaded gun available to an unsupervised 6 year old? I think the kids need new parents.