Mom finds lighter that looks like gun, decides to light up with it - and shoots 12 yr old daughter

[The Straight Story]

Mom accidentally shoots 12-year-old daughter

Banning police said a mother accidentally shot her 12-year-old daughter with what she thought was a novelty cigarette lighter.

Rachel Avila, 30, was standing with her daughter and friends about 5:40 p.m. in front of their mobile home in the 100 block of North Phillips Street when she found a miniature gun on the ground, Banning police said.

Believing the .22 Derringer revolver was a cigarette lighter, police said Avila attempted to light it by pulling the trigger. Nothing happened.

Avila then pulled the trigger a second time toward the ground, causing a bullet to fire and ricochet before hitting her daughter in the arm, police said.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_webgirlshot.675b9f00.html

[hlthe2b]

1. I hope ignorance skips a generation...

Glad the little girl is ok... But geebus... How does that woman manage to tie her own shoes (oh, yeah, velcro) :eyes:

[lbrtbell]

5. [phone]

Who the hell mistakes a gun for a cigarette lighter?

[ZombieHorde]

2. Accidentally shooting a child with a gun while trying to lite a cigarette?

This story was made for DU.

I'm glad the kid is OK.

[Morizovich]

34. Love that Zombie!

How do you get it to DO that?

[ZombieHorde]

36. I don't know. I just saw it somewhere, saved it on my computer, uploaded it to

photobucket, and then pasted the link to my sig line.

[petronius]

3. Hey Obamanaut! It isn't Florida or Texas!

It's some other dumbass state full of idiots and - aw, crap... ;)

[Tunkamerica]

6. California it looks like

[petronius]

10. True. But it's practically Arizona out that direction for all intents and purposes...

;)

[Evasporque]

4. good thing she didn't shoot herself in the face....nt

[KurtNYC]

28. The original article makes no mention of her having a cigarette

While she seems to have been convinced it was a lighter she DID point it at the ground before pulling the trigger.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[noamnety]

9. I feel odd about that comment.

it seems a little class-based, like it's equating poor with stupid.

[ChrisBorg]

11. Because you think poor people are stupid? Simple bigotry.

Why am I not surprised? :eyes:

[Union Scribe]

14. Gonna comment on her last name, too?

Maybe you're "not surprised" by something there too?

[WinkyDink]

15. IKR?! Ya gotta be Ivy League to mistakenly bomb wedding parties!

[MadHound]

'Scuse me, but I know many poor, but intelligent people who have lived in mobile homes,

At one time or another. I happen to be one of them.

Take your ignorant, class based, assumptions and put them, well, hopefully you're intelligent enough to figure out the rest.

[Maru Kitteh]

18. What a bigoted, despicable, very small thing of you to say.

:puke:

[Broderick]

20. Jeepers

I see thread after thread on here about supporting social safety nets and the rights of the poor, and then you post that drivel. Some folks have no choice but live where they can. Doesn't mean they are stupid.

[Blue-Jay]

8. Bullcrap.

It's highly unlikely that even the most idiotic of people can mistake a lighter for an actual gun. If she thought it was a lighter, why did she point it at the ground before pulling the trigger? Who points a cigarette lighter at the ground?

[Broderick]

21. If you have never held a gun who is to say?

Specially one that is similar in size to a lighter shaped like a gun. My grandfather had a lighter in the shape of a gun, antique, that lights butane when you pull the trigger. If she wanted to shoot her and claim ignorance point it at her when you pull the trigger.

[LanternWaste]

27. Having never touched, drawn, handled, or been tempted by The Gun

Having never touched, drawn, handled, fondled, stroked or been tempted by The Gun, I certainly would not know the difference between a legitimate firearm and a novelty lighter designed to look like one.

But then again, I can't tell the difference between real crap and novelty poop... coworkers get me with that one about once every two or three years. I guess we're not all good looking and above average. :shrug:

[Taverner]

12. Whew - glad she lived

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Fright! Panic!

:eyes:

[SaveOurDemocracy]

16. Google "gun cigarette lighter" images for a real surprise.

[slackmaster]

17. This kind of incident can be avoided through simple training

This incident points to a need to teach every child basic firearm safety in public schools. Safe gun handling includes muzzle control and trigger discipline. Those behaviors should be instinctive in every person. The natural tendency of an untrained person is to pick up anything that looks like a gun, point it at something, and pull the trigger. That natural behavior can be overcome easily with training.

I have personally taught firearm safety to more than 100 people.

[Control-Z]

19. Why would anyone make a lighter

that looks like a gun? Kind of sad that DU is jumping all over this woman, though. The pics below are all of lighters.



edit: fix bad typing

[RebelOne]

22. I had a lighter that looked like a gun

and I may have done the same stupid thing. That lady should not be demonized.

[Control-Z]

29. Thanks for saying so.

It is something I can see myself doing too. Though, out of neurotic-mommy safety, I probably would have pointed it away instead of down. I would have hit a neighbor, possibly.

[slackmaster]

38. I have several, but they're all MUCH smaller than the firearms they're patterned after

And I still don't point them at people.

[Control-Z]

40. I wouldn't know THAT.

I wouldn't know what firearm they were patterned after. Neither would the majority of people, I suspect. And the woman pointed it at the ground, not at a person.

[Proles]

23. Yeah, at least she didn't

point it at anyones face as a joke.

[Enrique]

24. see how dangerous smoking is? n/t

[sad sally]

31. remember cigarette candy?

[Shagbark Hickory]

25. Ammendment #2 strikes again. nm

Gotta have those guns just lying around. Because it's our right n whatnot.

[slackmaster]

39. That's gobbledy-gook

Nothing in the Constitution or Bill of Rights protects irresponsible behavior.

[Shagbark Hickory]

43. I don't appreciate the use of that offensive term.

[Kaleva]

26. I once mistook a 12 gauge shotgun for a really big butt plug. Sad story.

[guitar man]

35. ROFL!!

:spray: :rofl:

[L0oniX]

42. LOL

[guitar man]

30. Something not quite right

I was troubled by the description "derringer revolver" so I googled and found out that a handgun that fits the description does indeed exist despite the fact that a "Derringer" is a two shot over/under break action pistol.

The only gun that fits the description that I could find is the Charter Arms "dixie derringer". It's a tiny 5 shot revolver chambered in .22 LR and/or .22 magnum. It is also single action, meaning that one cannot just "pull the trigger" and fire it. the hammer must be pulled back first.

So, if she found it with the hammer already cocked. yes she could have fired it by just pulling the trigger. the article says it didn't fire the first time so she would have had to pull the hammer back and then squeeze the trigger to fire it. I'm really starting to smell bullshit on the "I thought it was a lighter" part of the story.

[Kaleva]

32. From what I've read on the Darwin Award site, I believe this is most likely a true story.

It's amazing how people can get themselves killed or injured.

As for mistaking the gun for a lighter, from what I recall, one does sort of have to cock the device (it's that child proof thingy) in order to pull the trigger and thus light the lighter.

[guitar man]

33. yeah maybe so

I've never had one of those lighters but I have had firearms for 36 years, maybe I'm a little biased about recognizing the genuine article. I just got a feeling that she popped off a round for whatever reason then realized "oh shit, I hit my kid" and made up a cover story.

[Kaleva]

37. That is a possibility.

It's not everyday I find a gun just laying on the ground in my front yard.

[L0oniX]

41. Stupid people should not have kids. Kids should not have stupid parents.

[LeftinOH]

44. Better headline: "Stupid woman finds gun, thinks it's a lighter, shoots daughter" . n/t