GUILTY FL - Tyler Rodgers, 22 mos, shot to death, Ocoee, 9 March 2008

[sweetheart29]

There is some question of weather a 22 month old child could actually pull the trigger of this type of gun. The gun, from articles I read would have had to have been "cocked" as the child probably did not have the strength to do so.


That was my thoughts a two year old that and pull a trigger on his own. Hmm something does not sound right.

I dont think people should hide guns to keep them away from kids. I think if your going to have a gun in the house you should teach the kids about guns. I was raised with gun in almost every corner of the house I touched one one time my mom spanked my butt for it. I never touched a another with out permission. We were not allowed to have toy guns to pretend to shoot people.

My son and daughter got there first guns (22 crickett) for there 2nd Chirstmas. there were both 2years old then. They both have shoot thier gun. But not with out a adult and netiher one can it and pull trigger by themselves. These guns are youth guns and the still need help with them. So I dont think that a 2 year old could do it with a .38 by himself even with a touche trigger I still dont think he could pull the hammer back. But if it was a semi-auto. it could have had a shell in the chamber already(only an idoit would put a gun up like that. The only reason to have shell in the chamber would be if your fixing to shoot it.) Then all the baby would have to have done is pull the trigger which is still hard but it could have been a touche trigger.

I do keep a gun with a loaded clip (clip is in the gun but not all the away) in the house not with a shell the chamber and with the saftey on and put up out of reach of little hands. I have that gun for protection some one breaking in to my house is not going to wake me up tell to get my key for the wait for me to load then shoot them.So I have to be kinda ready, but i also have to keep the gun safe in case my kids do decide to find it and look at it. At there ages right now they would not be able to get the clip the rest of the way in and a shell in the chamber and then firgure where safety is on the gun to shoot it.

 

[pixies]

Yes, accidents do happen. A child falls and hits his head on the table (happened today to my son, he is ok), a child falls out of the swing and hits her head on the ground (happened today with my 10 year old, she is ok) but having a gun sitting out in the open and being loaded is CRIMINAL!
That is not an accident, that is neglect.
I feel soooo bad for that family. My GOD! My son is the same age but guns should always be put away from little hands (and some big hands!)

We own several guns and my eldest 2 daughters (12,10) have been taught gun safety and they were taught how to properly fire a gun if needed but my youngest kids do not even know guns are in the house until they are old enough to be taught how to use them safely.

 

[GlitchWizard]

Yes, accidents do happen. A child falls and hits his head on the table (happened today to my son, he is ok), a child falls out of the swing and hits her head on the ground (happened today with my 10 year old, she is ok) ....

Your kids sound like mine... an accident looking for a place to happen!

 

[joe jones]

http://www.local6.com/news/15633124/detail.html

charges filed against father

 

[Amraann]

There's nothing they could do to this man that would be worse than the torture he's going through now. Why can't we let people grieve?

I am going to disagree here..
An accident happens due to the fault of no one..
This was serious neglect IMO... Guns in houses with children should ALWAYS be in a lock box.

 

[luthersmama]

The guy was a convicted felon who had just bought the gun "for protection" and had it under his mattress in the same bed where he and his son went to sleep. It apprears that the parents are not living together.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/p...n=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

 

[joe jones]

Maybe other people with guns will now be more security conscious,

that gun was an accident waiting to happen, loaded and stuffed under a mattress of a bed that a baby was to sleep in,


that is something his feckless/reckless father will have to live with for the rest of his days,

 

[XcomSquaddie]

About ten years ago I purchased a handgun. (S&W Sigma series .40S&W for the gunbunnies out there.) My main reason was self defense and the timing was important since our first child was born.

I did it right, spent several weeks researching it, bought the best one I could afford, etc. I filed for and received a CCW Permit and trained with a friend of mine who is a certified LE weapons instructor and a certified Glock Armorer. I even passed (unofficially) the local LE weapons certification tests.

All in all a fun experience.

So I bought a couple of holsters and carried it all over the place. Now the easiest holster to carry concealed was my Greco Fanny pack holster. Concealed right in plain sight. Pull one loop with the left finger, draw with the right hand, less than a second.

(I should add that I had two gun locks which were always on unless it was holstered. It was not holstered in the house, only stored. I also stored the weapon unloaded. My children rarely saw the weapon and never touched it.)

Again, fun stuff.

So five or six years pass. We're up to three kids now, older two are walking, etc. And I notice that when I'm using the fanny pack, the muzzle of the pistol is right at my kids' head level.

Now, I start to worry.

Over the next year or so, I get more uneasy. Everytime I carry, I see that muzzle at their head level. Even though it is stored safely, locked, out of sight, etc. I still worry.

The final straw came about 3-4 years ago. I sat down at my computer, logged onto the 'Net and pulled up CNN. Front page news, from eastern PA (IIRC). A little boy (about four I think), picked up a .45 pistol and fired one shot. The bullet went through the front door and hit his older sister who was running away from him. She was carrying two other siblings. The .45 calibre bullet went through her and the two other children. The older sister and one of the siblings died, the other sibling was critically wounded.

As I sat there reading this, I swear I heard a voice in my head. (Note that this is not a regular occurence...) Clear and emphatic it said: "Get rid of that gun." That's it. Nothing else, but as clear as if someone stood behind me.

So I called up a local gun store and they were willing to look at it. Within eight hours of reading that story, I was walking out of the gunshop with $200 cash in my pocket.

Although I do miss the shooting and training I just couldn't do it anymore. There is a feeling of safety and confidence when you're carrying. But the other feelings of unease and worry outweigh all that. In the end, it wasn't a hard choice to make.

 

[Brefie]

Sounds like you got all of the elements perfect, Squaddie. When and how to buy, how to hold, how to store and when to get rid of.

Good for you!

 

[Amraann]

The guy was a convicted felon who had just bought the gun "for protection" and had it under his mattress in the same bed where he and his son went to sleep. It apprears that the parents are not living together.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/p...n=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Convicted Felons cannot legally buy guns! So not only was he irresponsible about gun ownership he also illegally purchased the gun??

Yeah, he needs to be charged.

 

[Reannan]

Am I missing something here? With gun residue on the father's hands; I don't see how this was an accident. I think he made the accident up, and HE shot the child in the face. I would be willing to bet that the angle of the entry would doesn't fit with self-infliction either. Regarding guns in the home with children - I have weapons, and they are located in a safe location - but my children know where they are. I grew up with loaded guns in the house. In fact, there was a loaded shotgun behind the front door! My father took me with him when he went shooting for practice - and he took me with him coon hunting at night (he never shot one when I was with him, however). I KNEW what the gun was capable of doing, and therefore, I RESPECTED the gun. I would have NEVER touched that gun. Even as young as 2 or 3, it was a scary thing. Society has evolved, however, in such a manner that we cannot routinely teach a child that a gun is dangerous by taking our toddlers to the target range with us. Most homes that have obvious weapons today, also glorify the weapon (via their MySpace pages, etc), and make them desirable as a sort of status symbol.

 

[MeoW333]

Reannan, i'm thinking along the same lines as you.

"Rodgers said the Friday before the shooting, he had placed the loaded gun between the mattress and box spring with the handle facing out. He added that he positioned the gun upside down with the hammer pointing down towards the box spring and the trigger guard towards the ceiling. He also admitted he knew the gun was loaded."
"Rodgers admitted that he was simply too tired to take the precautions that would have saved the life his son."
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/p...n=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

This man at the least was "too tired" to make sure the gun was secured away from his toddler. Also i don't understand how he's going to stick the gun in between the mattress and box frame and expect it to stay in that exact position. Would a 22 month old be able to pull the gun out from between there while the dad was sleeping on the bed? The whole story doesn't sit right with me.

"Rodgers said he later fell asleep and assumed the little boy did as well. When he later woke up, he saw the toddler in between the bed and a TV stand holding a .38 caliber revolver. Rodgers then said that the gun went off as he reached to take it away from Tyler. The father wasn’t sure if Tyler fired the gun or the gun went off due to Rodgers trying to take it away from the boy. “All I’m thinking right then is to get the gun from my son.” Rodgers was quoted in the report as saying.

Rodgers also said that he believes that Tyler was holding the gun by its barrel but can’t say for sure because his only concern at the time was getting the gun away."

In order for this to happen as the father described, the baby would have had to of pulled the gun out from between the mattresses, turn it around and end up holding it by the barrel. The weight distribution would be towards the grip/handle part than the barrel. Could a 22 month old be capable of this? For the father to wake up and notice this then reach for the gun, anyone with brains would have went for the grip; how did it go off? Did he jar it? This whole story is fishy..
To begin with he at the very least (despite not being supposed to own a firearm as he's a convicted felon) should have put the gun up high where it couldn't be reached by a young child. Not to mention there are gun safes and trigger locks out there. There is no excuse for this aside from the one the father gave that he was "too tired" to bother.

 

[luthersmama]

My gut reaction is that he wasn't used to having his son with him and the kid startled him after he was asleep and he shot the boy thinking he was an intruder.

He should just tell the truth. Be a MAN!!!

 

[OkieGranny]

From October 2008:

http://www.baynews9.com/content/new...ands_Ocoee_Father_In_Jail_For_16_5_Years.html

It was an emotional day in court Wednesday when the father of a 22-month-old Ocoee boy, who accidentally fatally shot himself, learned he will spend the next 16.5 years behind bars.

Dontavious Rodgers accepted a plea deal for 13.5 years for aggravated manslaughter of a child and 3 years for possession of a firearm by a felon.