Child shoots and kills little sister in Indy

[LeafsFan]

This is absolutely tragic.

It's also a sobering lesson that kids can get to your guns if left unattended, so it's imperative that they be taught good safety and handling skills as early as possible so that they understand what guns are and that they can be dangerous if not handled properly.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family.



http://www.wishtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8268340

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Sunday morning, police were called to the 6100 block of Massachussets Avenue on the city's east side on a report of a child shot.

When IMPD officers arrived on the scene, they found 4-year old Makayla Booher shot in the face. Police say her 5-year old brother climbed a bookcase, picked up their father's gun, and fatally shot her.

According to police, there was only one round in the gun at the time of the shooting.

The children's father was at home at the time of the shooting. IMPD says the shooting has been ruled accidental. The 5-year old and a 15-year old have been taken into custody by child protective services.

Tune in to 24-Hour News 8 at 6pm for all the latest in this breaking news story.

 

[Intrepid Dad]

I hate reading stories like this. Parents must not underestimate their children's ability to find a gun, rack the slide and shoot it. I don't care how young they are. When children are in the house, proper precautions must be made.

 

[Starship1st]

This is another tragic child shooting all because of parents not following safety rules. You lock up cleaning fluids and poisons so that children do not swollow this stuff, then why not take the same precautions with your fire arms?

 

[#shooter]

Dad took the mag out but left one in the chamber. Very sad for all involved.

 

[Professor Gun]

"Stop"
"Don't Touch"
"Leave the Area"
"Tell an Adult"

-NRA, Eddie Eagle Program

I taught my kids this from about age 3 or 4. Have always had guns in the house, they are typically locked up in safes when not being used, but you never know when a kid might discover a gun.

When they were 5 or 6 years old I decided to test this a few times and left out two handguns (after checking several times they were unloaded and all ammo was locked up and unavailable). Both of my sons did exactly as they had been taught.

They are now 16 and 14, two of the safest shooters I have been around, and are trustworthy. They have a gun safe in their bedroom with their shotguns in the safe. Everything else is still in my gun safes, it is not that I don't trust them, it is just a careful Dad thing.

 

[MechAg94]

Another good habit to teach is proper gun handling when they play with toy guns. I know my Dad used to make us not point our toy guns at each other (even sticks). He would tell us to imagine enemies and shoot at them. It gets the habits built in there so when they graduate to BB guns and larger. We didn't always do it when he wasn't around and we didn't always understand why, but when it came to shooting BB guns, we didn't shoot at each other.

 

[MarcusWendt]

The dad should be in jail.

 

[Soap]

The word around the campfire is that this guy had guns, knives, and even a sword out in plain view all over the house. And that there was already an incident with an ND there. I believe he is going to be charged at least with neglect.

Proper training and safe storage could have easily prevented this.

 

[mekender]

The dad should be in jail.

and if the child had climbed up to the top of a bookcase, grabbed a bookend and hit his sister in the head with it, killing her... should the dad still be in jail?

i agree that there should be some safe storage practices involved anytime there are kids in a house... but to charge someone with a crime because a child did something that was extraordinary... kinda silly to me...