Guns were a staple in home of boy victim
By David Hunn and Heather Ratcliffe
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/06/2007
EDMUNDSON — Guns had been in the boys' home long before the 8-year-old shot his 3-year-old brother.
But this one — a 12-gauge, pistol-grip shotgun, tucked under the couch — had been given to their mother just recently. Rita Gollihur kept it for protection, neighbors said, likely from the very man police think gave it to her.
On Sunday, Gollihur's son, a third-grader at Holy Trinity Catholic School in St. Ann, shot his brother with this gun. The blast hit 3-year-old Benjamin Gollihur in the back and tore through his chest, killing him. He was the second local child fatally shot by another in the past week.
On Jan. 31 in Venice, a young child found a loaded revolver and shot 2-year-old Timberlyn Terrell in the head. She died 29 hours later.
Statistics show the number of accidental gun deaths has been slowly declining for two decades.
But some parents still don't understand the true risks of guns, some experts say.
"The best public health research shows us that homes with guns are less safe than ones without them," said Jon S. Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.
Gun safety programs may work, he said. But some case studies show that children who were taught gun safety were just as likely to play with guns as those who weren't, Vernick said.
"A parent who relies solely on teaching their kids not to play with guns is taking a serious gamble," Vernick said. "You can't stem a child's natural curiosity."
Court documents make it clear that Gollihur's boys grew up around guns.
Almost four years ago, as Gollihur and former husband Jeffrey Kientzel prepared for divorce, Kientzel listed five weapons that the couple owned: two pistols, two shotguns and a rifle.
Just a year ago, police say, Gollihur reported two guns stolen from the house she shared with her sons just south of the airport, in the village of Edmundson.
Less than two weeks ago, Gollihur asked for an order of protection against a man she called a classmate.
Gollihur is a full-time student at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, neighbors and school officials said. She asked her classmate to borrow his microbiology papers, she wrote in the court petition. They had lunch. And then, she wrote, he gave her some pepper spray, a switch blade and a shotgun.
Police believe that gun is the one used to kill Benjamin, said Edmundson Police Chief Don Kraher.
Neighbors said Gollihur feared the classmate would come to her house, so she kept the shotgun.
Gollihur would not speak publicly about the incident or her family.
"Our family needs our privacy, and needs time to heal," she said late Monday.
Her lawyer, Patrick J. McCarthy, said she would not say more until after the funeral.
But the community and school mourned Monday, both for the death of Benjamin and the innocence of his brother.
He is — neighbors, friends, and school leaders all said — a typical 8-year-old.
The principal called him a good student. Friends said he was a good athlete. His den leader said he was a good Cub Scout, set to receive his "Bear" badge this weekend. He likes camping and goes hunting with his father.
Many called him respectful, kind and caring.
Almost universally, they said he was protective of his toddler brother.
Neighbors remember the two as inseparable. They played ball outside, stomped in the snow and took Harrison, their German shepherd mix, for walks, the dog dragging them down the sidewalk.
"They were never apart," said next-door neighbor Michelle Van Dalsem, 23. The two did not share the same father, she said, and when the older brother went to his dad's for the weekend, "Ben stayed in the house, just waiting for him to come home," she said
Holy Trinity pastor Monsignor John Leykam said the community has already begun gathering to help the Gollihurs.
School parent Angie Fink, "homeroom mom" for the 8-year-old's class, said she, like most parents, was shocked when she heard.
"Let (him) know that we love him," she said. "No matter what, we love him."
Then she, like many that day, cried.
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