Another Boy Dies in Ohio, America’s Capital of "Accidental" Child Shootings

[Robb]

On Saturday, the New York Daily News reported that, since Newtown, at least 40 children 12 and under have died in “accidental” shootings—ones in which the child either shot himself or was shot by another child. Make that 41: On Sunday night a 4-year-old Ohio boy apparently shot and killed himself with an unsecured gun while his 1- and 5-year-old siblings watched. Police report that three handguns were found in the room where Raytwon Briggs was shot. It’s not yet clear who owned the guns, or how they were stored, or whether anyone will be charged in the matter. The local police chief told WKBN television that “we’re working with the theory right now that it was probably accidental but we got a long way to go yet until we can say that for sure.”

If you read this blog often, you know what’s coming next. All together now: Accidental child shootings are almost never accidents. The death of Raytwon Briggs comes one week after a 4-year-old Kentucky boy shot and killed his 6-year-old sister with their grandfather’s pistol. The man had apparently been cleaning his pistol while his grandchildren looked on, and when he set it down and stepped out of the room, his grandson grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger. Both of these incidents could’ve been prevented if the responsible adults in these situations had acted responsibly and followed basic gun safety procedures, such as not keeping three handguns in a place where a 4-year-old can easily find and access them; not cleaning your pistol while it is loaded; and not leaving it unsecured in front of unsupervised children who might just pick it up and shoot it because they’re kids and they don’t know any better.

I know I say this every week, and I’m sorry to be repetitive, but what can I do—people keep making the same mistakes. When it comes to firearm safety, negligent gun owners create their own bad luck. It’s my contention that these sorts of shootings often constitute criminal negligence, and that the relevant parents and guardians ought to be prosecuted, if only to send the message that society will not and should not stand for a cavalier approach to gun safety when children are involved.

Read More: http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2013/07/08/raytwon_briggs_youngstown_ohio_is_america_s_capital_of_accidental_child.html

[mikeysnot]

1. law abiding

responsible gun owner....

is 43 times more likely to harm yourself or a loved one than defend yourself against government tyranny or the boogie man.

[ManiacJoe]

6. That has got to be the worst misquote of the Kellermann study yet.

[mikeysnot]

24. You happy now?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/01/14/169164414/lack-of-up-to-date-research-complicates-gun-debate

Kellermann found people turned those guns on themselves and others in the house far more often than on intruders. "In other words, a gun kept in the home was 43 times more likely to be involved in the death of a member of the household than to be used in self-defense," he says.

Really if guns kept us safe would the pro gun crowd want to have all the information available to "prove" it instead of suppressing the studies? Just saying.

In 2003, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Republican from Kansas, added language to the Justice Department's annual spending bill. It says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can't release information used to trace guns involved in crime to researchers and members of the public. It also requires the FBI to destroy records on people approved to buy guns within 24 hours.

[ManiacJoe]

30. That is better but still not completely accurate.

"In other words, a gun kept in the home was 43 times more likely to be involved in the death of a member of the household than to be used in self-defense," he says.

should be:

"In other words, a gun kept in the home was 43 times more likely to be involved in the death of a member of the household than to be involved in the death of an intruder," he says.

[beevul]

31. The "body count falacy". N/T

[ManiacJoe]

32. Feel free to explain your cryptic post.

If you don't understand what the Kellermann study found, feel free to ask questions.

[beevul]

33. I was referring to this...

"...more likely to be involved in the death of a member of the household than to be involved in the death of an intruder"

Kellermann is often cited as evidence against defensive gun use, of which, not all or even many involve gun deaths, or even injury.

That's what I was referring to.

[byeya]

2. 100% correct: Kids & guns in the house and shootings are not accidents. They are a very dangerous

situation just waiting for tragedy.

[galileoreloaded]

13. except they almost never happen. nt

[BainsBane]

14. As of May, 71 children had been killed by guns since Sandyhook

The death rate form guns for children under 6 is higher than for active duty police.
That is no hardly ever. As usual, facts show you have no idea what you're talking about.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/gun-deaths-children-newtown-caroline-sparks-crickett-firearms

[galileoreloaded]

15. see post 12. nt

[Skittles]

20. your chart of 15 - 19 year olds?

please

[galileoreloaded]

21. Yeah. The group with the largest mortality rate. That one.

Because for the smaller kids the severity is less.

Mental midgetry prevails when this issue comes up.

[Skittles]

22. the thread is about TODDLERS

[mikeysnot]

25. Facts get in the way of

pro-gun arguments....

[Robb]

27. Plus you need to step around all the blood.

It's delicate work, defending guns.

[malaise]

3. +1,000

How do you leave kids with guns

[ileus]

4. No excuse for not having proper locks/safes or SD firearm on your person.

A firearm can become a dangerous device if left unattended. If you have a firearm for safety it needs to either be on your person or locked up.

Safety first, accidents never.

[Kolesar]

5. My community has to buy trigger locks for the dumb cheapskates who won't buy them themselves

Rich Ohioans will pay hundreds of dollars for their weapons, but they cannot budget a few dollars for a lock. That's pathetic.

[madinmaryland]

7. They are responsible gun owners until they are not.

[theHandpuppet]

8. Question about Ohio gun laws

Are there no laws regarding securing guns? How can having loaded firearms around small children not be a crime? Is this not child endangerment or criminal negligence?

[TheMadMonk]

10. Clearly they also lack any sort of criminal or culpable negligence laws. /nt

[kestrel91316]

29. Or they can be bothered to enforce existing gun laws, because, you know, TEH CONSTITUTION!!!!

[BornLooser]

9. Teabilly Central here in the Buckeye.

These cretins think they's in Louisiana.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

23. Even Youngstown?

[AtheistCrusader]

11. "All together now: Accidental child shootings are almost never accidents."

Statistically speaking, that is entirely true, and you know it. Accidental shooting deaths of children in this context are fewer than 300 per year. That's less than a whole percent of all firearm related deaths per year.

That said, I agree with you, this is a case of what I would define as criminal negligence, and should be prosecuted in that manner. There is no plausible scenario where a child should come into direct contact with a law abiding gun-owner's unsecured firearm. Period.

(Obviously this does not apply to shooting deaths wherein some non-law-abiding miscreant tossed a gun in a park or some woods, to eliminate evidence of a gun used in a crime, and a child found it.)


In my state we have mixed results prosecuting these cases. As things stand, if you are law enforcement you get away scot free, if you aren't, you go to jail, is our recent court history.

This officer was acquitted. Left a gun in the cup holder and exited the vehicle with kids in it.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Girl-shot-by-sibling-in-Marysville-police-officers-van-142212385.html

This parent went to jail.
http://www.king5.com/news/local/3-year-old-boy-killed-in-accidental-shooting-case-142598826.html

I have... no opinion on whether race was involved in the acquittal/sentencing disparity.

[galileoreloaded]

12. You need a better boogyman...because its getting better..way better

from the American Academy of Pediatrics.....

COUNCIL ON INJURY, VIOLENCE, AND POISON PREVENTION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
originally published online October 18, 2012
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-2481



http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/10/15/peds.2012-2481.full.pdf

[Gormy Cuss]

16. That charts death rate for 15-19 year olds only.

Here's the legend:

FIGURE 1
Firearm-related death rates per 100 000 people 15 through 19 years of age in the United States, 1995–
2009. (Adapted from National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Web-Based Injury Statistics Query & Reporting System (WISQARS) Injury
Mortality Reports, 1999–2009, for national, regional, and states [May, 2012]. Available at: http://
webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/. Accessed June 8, 2012)

[galileoreloaded]

17. wonder why that is? give ya one guess. nt

[Gormy Cuss]

18. Wonder why you hauled that out in a thread about YOUNG children.

It's irrelevant. The AAP document discusses rates for all children and even mentions the proportion of "unintentional" deaths in that adolescent group vs. younger children. IOW, there are honest ways to present the data and misleading ones like presenting this chart without qualification.

[lindysalsagal]

19. Which is why they think they're "pro-life."

[bunnies]

26. And have any of these gun owner been held responsible at all?

I dont think Ive read of a single case where charges were filed against the gun owner. I find it absolutely abhorrent that these crimes go unpunished. Oh, another dead kid. Oops!

[kestrel91316]

28. He should have paid attention in gun safety class. And the siblings should have been armed, too.

One more reason we need MOAR GUNZ!!!