11-year-old Tennessee boy shoots 8-year-old girl over argument about puppy

[IDemo]

Source: NY Daily News

An 11-year-old boy in Tennessee shot and killed his next door neighbor, an 8-year-old girl, over an argument about a puppy Saturday, police said.

The young killer, a fifth grade student at White Pine Elementary School, used his father’s 12-gauge shotgun to fire at Maykayla Dyer from inside his home around 7:30 p.m., WRIB reported.

The little girl, a third-grader at the same school, was hit the chest and died in a hospital, police said.

Neighbors said the senseless shooting was sparked by the girl innocently declining to let the boy playing with her dog.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tennessee-boy-11-shoots-girl-8-argument-puppy-article-1.2385429

[ZM90]

1. My question is. Why wasn't the gun locked away?

Seriously a 11 year old should not be able to easily access a gun. When I was a kid my father had guns and he had a key high up where I could not reach it and the guns locked in a cabinet.

[Major Nikon]

6. Because that's just not how gun nuts roll

I've known several gun nuts who keep loaded guns in several places around their homes. Their "logic" is that there's nothing more useless than a gun that isn't loaded and readily available at all times.

[ZM90]

14. Yeah see my father had guns but he was responsible. He had a gun cabinet to keep them locked away.

I ultimately think the responsibility here falls mostly on the parents for not keeping the guns locked up. Even if it is just hunting guns like my dad used they still should have kept the guns locked away and no guns should have been in that kid's hands unless it was a BB gun because I doubt 11 years old is old enough to comprehend too much why what he did was awful and should never have happened in the first place.

[3catwoman3]

29. Not even mostly on the parents.

EXCLUSIVELY on the parents.

And I don't want to see any rationale about"tragic accident." This is fucking negligenceof the highest order.

[skepticscott]

43. Exactly! Thank you!

It needs to be emphasized every time an incident like this happens, that there are NO accidents with guns. None. Only reckless, careless, negligent disregard for the basic rules of gun safety and responsibility, which NRA supporters claim to hold as important. The parents should be criminally charged for their role in the girl's death.

[restorefreedom]

21. seems not to have worked out

for that little girl.

fucking lunatics.

[Squaredeal]

13. Why wasn't the gun locked away?

Because, according to the NRA, guns are good.

[rockfordfile]

41. yeah

[melm00se]

73. the NRA would have the same question

http://training.nra.org/nra-gun-safety-rules.aspx

Store guns so they are not accessible to unauthorized persons.
Many factors must be considered when deciding where and how to store guns. A person's particular situation will be a major part of the consideration. Dozens of gun storage devices, as well as locking devices that attach directly to the gun, are available. However, mechanical locking devices, like the mechanical safeties built into guns, can fail and should not be used as a substitute for safe gun handling and the observance of all gun safety rules.

[liberal N proud]

2. I just don't know what to say anymore

These senseless acts just keep happening and we still can't get through to people that something has to change.


SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE!

[SCantiGOP]

50. And it's very simple what has to change

Congress. Don't blame the NRA - it is our Congress that is deferring to them and not taking in this problem. A recent poll in SC, where it doesn't get any redder or more pro-gun, had 60% wanting more checks, longer waiting periods and no gun show sales without full checks.

[workinclasszero]

58. But its all that sweet sweet NRA $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

That keeps Congress from doing what most people want them to do!

[SCantiGOP]

66. Oh yes

I didn't mean not to blame the NRA; it's just that Congress could tell them to go to hell and get on with working on the problem. Things won't change until we get to the point where elected officials are losing elections because of their support of NRA.

[LAGC]

3. “When we first moved to White Pine, the little boy was bullying Maykayla,” she said.

“He was making fun of her, calling her names, just being mean to her. I had to go the principal about him and he quit for a while, and then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her.”

Sounds like the parents are real charmers... six children?

Bet the kid was neglected and felt the need to bully to compensate.

[patsimp]

5. Poor girl. The kid was a bully who had access to a gun.

[mopinko]

7. bet the kid was beaten.

spare the rod and spoil the child, sayeth the lord. to these weirdos, anyway.

[Squaredeal]

15. Six children?

My parent had ten... and no firearms in the house. When we suggested to our dad that he get one for protection in the house, he replied, "One of you kids would wind up killing a brother or sister."

[silverweb]

18. A wise man, your dad.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Welcome to DU, Squaredeal!

[I dunno]

32. Sounds like if anybody needed protection it was your poor parents from you TEN KIDS

Ten! I cant imagine that!

[2naSalit]

78. Hmmm...

Interesting context for this awful event.

"The young gunman is one of six siblings, who range in age from 8 to 12."

That's a lot o' kids in four years. Wonder if there were twins or...??????

And their environment says something to the local culture...

http://www.whitepinetn.com/history.asp

One of the geographic features is a river flanking the community of about 2000 named the "French Broad River"... really.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. Ugh, just ugh. And linked off of that article's page: Mom of Oregon mass killer stockpiled firearms

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/exclusive-mom-ore-shooter-stockpiled-guns-article-1.2384460

The mother of the Oregon mass murderer stockpiled firearms because she feared stricter gun laws — and shopped around for a shooting range that would let her and her son fire away without supervision, the Daily News has learned.

Laurel Harper, a nurse who shared an apartment with her son Chris Harper Mercer, spoke openly about her love of guns, said the mother of one of her patients.

"She said she had multiple guns and believed wholeheartedly in the Second Amendment and wanted to get all the guns she could before someone outlawed them," Shelly Steele, who hired Harper to provide care for her sickly teenage son, told The News in an exclusive interview Saturday.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

9. One gun nut bequeaths to her son, the love of firearms.

Pandemonium ensues...

[JustADumbFireman]

49. Jeebus Crikes...

There is No END to the stupidity and insanity of these gun nuts. Hope she's enjoying the result of her gun love.

[apnu]

63. Oh Boy the comments on that link are full of fun. Well no, not really. (nt)

[MissKat]

8. That's how they do it on tee-eve

Cause we all know, that's how things is settled on the tee-vee. Boom. Ya blast 'em one in the chest. Problem solved.

The parents of this boy need to be charged with negligence--he should NOT have been able to get that gun.
The boy needs to be locked up for a very long time.

Now, let's pretend America, that we're grown ups. In grown up land we have to have insurance on our cars, just in case we damage someone else's. So, what if we had to carry gun insurance?

Insurance companies would come up with a risk assessment and I'll bet it would eliminate a lot of idiots who shouldn't have guns. It's a place to start.

Then, let's have a surtax on ammo. And the money from that surtax would go to pay the medical/funeral costs of the injured/dead. Again, it's a place to start.

But we'd better do something because this is only going to get worse.

[silverweb]

20. Insurance is a very good idea!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]

[Orrex]

10. Thus the boy's father murdered an entire family

Horrible beyond words. I wish it were hard to believe.

[valerief]

11. If only the girl had an assault rifle. NRA logic. nt

[workinclasszero]

59. Bingo

The NRA's solution to this tragedy?

Arm all 8 year olds with assault rifles!

God bless Amerika!

[KamaAina]

80. Or the puppy.

[R. P. McMurphy]

12. The girl's uncle says this isn't about guns.

He states this is about the poor job of parenting in America today.

While reading about this tragedy on the internet someone on the Diane Riehm show said that Tennessee's Lieutenant Governor, while speaking about the shooting at Umpqua Community College, called for all Christians to arm themselves.

From The Tennessean:

The recent spike in mass shootings across the nation is truly troubling. Whether the perpetrators are motivated by aggressive secularism, jihadist extremism or racial supremacy, their targets remain the same: Christians and defenders of the West.

While this is not the time for widespread panic, it is a time to prepare. I would encourage my fellow Christians who are serious about their faith to think about getting a handgun carry permit. I have always believed that it is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.

Our enemies are armed. We must do likewise.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2015/10/02/lt-gov-ramsey-christians-serious-faith-should-consider-handgun-permits/73203888/

I used to have hope for this country.

[newfie11]

40. Crazy!!!!!

If this is the future of America,watch out world.

[JustADumbFireman]

52. Then the girl's uncle...

...is just as STUPID and INSANE as the boy and his family!

[lancer78]

71. The uncle does have a point

I live just 10 miles north of where this happened. The parenting abilities of the people in this area are horrendous. Absolutely no respect for other people's property from children around here. They let their spawn run around all hours during the day or night. If the special snowflake wants something, the parents will get it for them and then let their utilities to get cut off.


I think too many parents since about the mid 80's have just let the idiot box raise their kids.

And before you flame me, I invite you to come down for a few days. I have a spare room in my house. You will not believe the ignorance and hatefulness of the people down here.

[R. P. McMurphy]

72. I live in the area also.

I agree that the parenting skills of some of the local gentry are almost nonexistent. Know too many of that type around here to be surprised. I love the beauty of this place but the idiocy that is so commonplace is really making me uncomfortable here.

[Sunlei]

16. kids, especially angry kids have no impulse control what so ever. I'll say it again.

Adults who leave guns around where any kid can get to them easy should be charged as an accessory to the childs "crime".

That is a "gun regulation" America needs.

[enough]

19. A very good idea. (nt)

[Scootaloo]

39. 100% agree

[raccoon]

67. I totally agree. nt

[valerief]

81. Accessory? Maybe the gun owner s/b charged as if he pulled the trigger himself. nt

[SheilaT]

17. The sad thing is that the parents of the boy

probably won't be charged with anything, as seems to always be the case in such child shootings. The logic is always that the parents have suffered enough.

Well the ones who are suffering most are the parents of the little girl. The other parents need to serve time, and be forbidden to ever own any guns ever again.

Meanwhile, the most appropriate response to this story is to remind all readers that this little girl is only one of about thirty or so people who died from guns that day. Each and every gun death should be on the front pages of every newspaper in the country, be the lead-off to the evening news, and maybe then it would finally sink in what actually goes on in this country.

[restorefreedom]

22. will this killer face justice?

or will he go to kiddie jail and be out in 2 years?

and wtf with the parents? negligent homicide for them.

gop voters, all i am sure.

rip, little girl

[Darb]

23. She should have armed herself, obviously.

What kind of eight year old runs around playing with puppies without a handgun strapped to her little hip? She was begging for it.

Surely one of our beloved gun "enthusiasts" could recommend a a make, model, and caliber that would be a good fit for and eight year old girl. Any help?

[-none]

31. I'm reasonable sure the make a pretty pink 22L semi-auto just the right size for 8 year old girls

BTY, I think requiring insurance for each and every firearm one possess is a good idea. Let the insurance companies gouge gun owners also, instead of just their victims and their families.

[I dunno]

34. Hmm, a whole new market. Maybe we could get mini cigarettes to go along with it.

[ileus]

24. Lock them up....

Why is that so hard to do. If it's not on your person or in reach lock it/them up...

[Aristus]

25. Problem-solving: Tennessee style.

[One_Life_To_Give]

26. About the age Audie Murphy took over the family

Interesting how a few short decades ago a young man could go to work, hunt and support his siblings. While today we are told of what they are incapable of.

[newfie11]

37. Yes times have changed

But why? What is causing this hatred and the lack of reasoning and empathy?

[zalinda]

42. There is a lot of things that have changed

I blame a lot of the chemicals that we are now exposed to. More and more people are going off the rails, so to speak. But, that isn't the only thing. How is it economically different now than to the 50's. In the 50's, companies were proud of giving out 'gold watches' to their employees of 25 years. Now, employees are a commodity, easily replaced. Tension, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and that back against the wall feeling is everywhere, at least for those of us not living high on the hog.

They did an experiment where they took normally docile rats and started adding more and rats to the confined space. Even though there was room and food enough for every rat, they started to attack each other. This is one of the things that is happening in the US. While it is not the close proximity of people in the space, it may be the panic of survival that is causing such violence. We are in the damned if we do, damned if we don't situation, and unfortunately it is every rat for himself. It takes a village does not work when the village is under water and every one is fighting for a way to survive.

Z

[newfie11]

70. Boy I think you hit the nail on the head

Everything you said makes sense.
How sad we had to evolve into this mess.

[CrispyQ]

27. I can't imagine how angry I would be at the parents who didn't lock up their fucking guns.

That old saying about revenge being a dish best served cold comes to mind.

I hate the term "responsible gun owner' cuz everyone who owns a gun thinks they are responsible & as an outsider, I have no way of knowing which ones are & which ones aren't.

[Judi Lynn]

28. I have no doubt the victim believed the vicious little bully would hurt the puppy.

She had already learned he had a monstrous disposition. Who would allow someone like him to have access to something helpless, anyway?

If he had no qualms about killing his little neighbor, he would have also murdered the little dog had the idea occurred to him, just to take away a little friend the little girl loved.

There's no way this will be the last time he harms someone. He's starting off early.

Authorities should look into his history already established.

[sarisataka]

30. Guns need to be properly secured

it is the owner's responsibility
http://projectchildsafe.org/

[shenmue]

33. ....

[Vinca]

35. Sickening.

The gun owner who failed to keep the weapon secured should be charged as an accessory to murder. A day doesn't go by that innocent people aren't slaughtered for no reason. Enough is enough. Gun owners must be responsible for their guns and they must pay the price when they aren't.

[newfie11]

36. Horrible !!!!

Yes that gun should have been locked up.
What has happened to this country? I was a kid in the 50s, my folks loved westerns and we went to the movies a lot.

To my knowledge there were no mass shootings back then. I had a daisy BB rifle and walked around like Daniel Boone when we went out to target practice. Yeah even though I'm female.
Annie Oakley Was my idol.

Kids fought with fists not guns.

I really wonder if some of this is a result of the movies now days.

[marym625]

48. real life is enough.

[niyad]

38. apart from the fact that the parents of that angry young murderer should have had the guns locked

up, what in the HELL were they teaching their children that the bully's first thought was to grab a gun and kill the little girl? that wasn't something that just sprang up out of nowhere.

can cps remove the other children from that sick, twisted home?

[complain jane]

44. Heartbreaking.

Sounds like she had good reason not to want to let this violent kid play with her pet.

[complain jane]

45. The little girl should have had a gun.

</sarcasm> because these days it's not so obvious

[marym625]

46. Jesus fucking Christ!

THIS is what happens when gun violence is commonplace. THIS is what happens when shooters are glorified. THIS is what happens when stand your ground laws elevate murderers to hero status. THIS is what happens when stand your ground laws exist. THIS is what happens when idiot, mother fucking, pos gun owners don't lock up their weapons.

Horrific.

[perdita9]

47. Will the parents be charged with negligance?

Somebody's butt needs to go to jail

[IDemo]

55. They should be in most if not all jurisdictions n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

51. This is just horrible!

[The_Casual_Observer]

53. Even if the guns are locked up, a kid will find the key eventually.

The gun nuts are always saying that the government wants to take away their guns and that are protecting themselves from a tyrannical government takeover. Anyone who is dumb enough to believe this kind of shit is probably dangerous and shouldn't be allowed to own a god damn gun in the first place.

[dembotoz]

62. kids are bright. at that age i knew where the family papers were hidden and where the key was

we did not have any guns.
would assume the parents would have shown others the gun collection...or when they were cleaned or used for hunting
kids see where you put things...

[NickB79]

54. The local police dept. here give gun locks away for free

My hunting firearms are unloaded and locked up when not in use, both via a gun safe and trigger locks on individual guns. The ammunition is locked up as well. The only guns not locked up are a couple of pellet guns my daughter and I plink cans with in the backyard (but even those are always stored unloaded).

This shouldn't be happening in the 21st century.

[Jester Messiah]

56. The sickness is in ourselves. The shootings are a symptom. [nt]

[workinclasszero]

57. How long do we have to live with this insanity?

The father who owned the weapon needs years behind bars for this, which won't happen.

The kid is a murderer and his life is basically over at 11.

An innocent little 8 year old girl is horrifically killed, dead and buried.

This country is insane to let this shit go on, day after day, after day.

[apnu]

60. The NRA says: If only that 8 year old girl had a gun, she could have saved herself. (nt)

[Lunabell]

61. His father should be charged.

With at least negligent manslaughter . SOMETHING!

[RecoveringJournalist]

64. It's time

Personally, I think the answer lies in tests to acquire your license to own a firearm, a license which must be renewed every so often. Then , if you own a gun, you need to have insurance to cover it specifically. If this is good enough for owners of vehicles (machines built with the intent of transportation,) it's good enough for owners of guns (machines built with the intent of killing.)

[benld74]

65. Prayers to all involved

[rafeh1]

68. Many right whinger gun nuts

Last edited Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:27 PM - Edit history (1)

Have an internal anger chip on the shoulder they pass on to their kids

[oswaldactedalone]

69. Stuff happens

Time to shrug your shoulders and move on. Can't do anything about it. Just ask Jeb Bush.

[olddots]

74. this here is how we deal with population control in Merika

[Oneironaut]

75. Let me guess - this was one of the "experienced" children with a gun.

Isnt the gun owners' meme that, given sufficient training, an 11-year-old is fully mature enough to be given access to a gun? Umm...

[Warpy]

76. Where were his idiot parents

and why wasn't that gun locked in a safe?

We have got to start prosecuting careless parents along with the kids who get hold of guns in the house. It's the only way to wake the lazy, clueless bastards up and maybe get guns kept away from kids.

[thelordofhell]

77. "Stuff Happens"----Jeb Bush

[Dems to Win]

79. She died to protect the Second Amendment

It must be watered daily with the blood of innocents.

[laundry_queen]

82. This is why

I'm glad I'm not raising kids in the US where there are so many guns. *I* may be a responsible gun owner (if I owned any) but you cannot count on everyone being that way.

My parents, raised in the boonies where everyone had guns, were ultra paranoid about my brother and I ever encountering guns at someone else's house and gave us a long list of rules should we ever encounter one. I've told my children the same thing. My parents wouldn't even let us have toy guns, because in the town my mom grew up in, some kid's older brother was horsing around with a real gun and told his brother, who had a friend over and who was scared to touch it, that it was okay, it was just a toy. The brother took the 'toy' gun and shot his friend. My parents drilled it into us that you never knew if a gun was a toy or not, and you should NEVER point it at a person just to be sure.

My brother and I didn't really need any reminders anyway - a kid in our school had been shot in the face with a BB gun and his face was somewhat disfigured and he had a glass eye. We were definitely not interested in anything similar happening to us.

I am beyond livid at those parents. They didn't only cause a young girl to lose her life, they ruined her family's life and they ruined their own child's life.