LA - Marie Smothers, 87, shot to death by 8yo boy, Slaughter, 22 Aug 2013

[Hopeful One]

I wholeheartedly disagree. I'm saying having a gun in your home DOES NOT and WILL NOT make a person or their children safe. Training or not. It's a fallacy perpetuated by the extremely powerful, wealthy gun industry. Stats do not support the notion that having a gun in one's home makes people safer. We will have to agree to disagree.

BBM

This is an opinion, not a fact.

And I agree that we shouldn't turn this into a gun debate thread. lease:

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Well, something certainly wasn't "normal" and loving in that household to have an 8-yo pick up a gun and intentionally shoot his grandma.

And why were they sharing a bedroom? That's weird.

I thought that, but then I thought it was probably one of those 'homettes' older folks live in and since he was just staying there then it's not all that weird, because it was only for a few nights etc, so I'm letting it go.

Weird things for me here, why did the child know about the gun at all, if grandma wanted to keep a gun around for 'protection' or whatever, how did the child know it was there, or accidently find it, or find it loaded ... oh hang on, because it was probably in that bedroom they shared, and loaded so it could be readily used for 'protection' and not locked up for that same reason.

Second weird thing is the extremely violent video game I'm assuming not owned by grandma, so brought along with the 8 year old, yeap good stuff, letting the child play that one. Guess reading a book before bed just doesn't cut it anymore.

Also I doubt the child would have clobbered grandma over the head with a baseball bat or stabbed her to death with a steak knife from the kitchen drawer, and if he had tried it at least she would have had a chance to defend herself. Guns are way different to these items that can also be used to kill.

So if grandma wants to have a gun to give her a chance in case there is some kind of intruder, then that's fair enough I guess, but that makes the room where the gun is kept 'out of bounds' as far as I am concerned.

Is this kind of fear common and justified? If so, what happens when kids visit? Are there any laws around keeping loaded handguns in a bedside drawer, seems to me that's not a good idea when there are visitors, seems to me that keeping guns locked up in a safe is a waste of time and you may as well not have one at all.

Catch 22. Something has to change, or we just accept these deaths as collateral damage and learn to accept it as the price you pay.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

"Boy, 8, accused of intentionally killing 87-year-old woman in Louisiana"

"An 8-year-old boy intentionally shot and killed an 87-year-old woman at their home in Slaughter, La., authorities said Friday."

"Although the juvenile initially told investigators that he accidentally shot the victim while playing with a firearm, the investigation has led investigators to believe that the 8-year-old intentionally shot Mrs. Smothers in the back of the head as she sat in her living room watching television," sheriff's officials said in a statement."

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...y-killing-87-year-old-woman-in-louisiana?lite

 

[gxm]

They weren't 8 years old.

And there were two of them.

 

[animlzrule]

BBM

This is an opinion, not a fact.

And I agree that we shouldn't turn this into a gun debate thread. lease:

Actually, it is a fact. It takes approximately one second of research on line to find the studies. Here's one:

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full

I accept that this is not a thread about gun control, but to act as though prevalence and access to firearms is not a factor in this case is disingenuous and farcical. Don't want to be a victim of gun violence? An excellent place to start is by not having one in your home.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Actually, it is a fact. It takes approximately one second of research on line to find the studies. Here's one:

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full

I accept that this is not a thread about gun control, but to act as though prevalence and access to firearms is not a factor in this case is disingenuous and farcical. Don't want to be a victim of gun violence? An excellent place to start is by not having one in your home.

Don't want to be a victim of a criminal who breaks into your home? An excellent place to start is having a gun in your home. Just ask those who have protected their family with one.

Can't argue with the people who are alive today because they were armed and protected themselves.

This is not about the great gun debate.

This is about being responsible gun owners.

There is no reason why she should not have had that gun. But she should have been more responsible with it.

 

[Gardenlady]

Actually, it is a fact. It takes approximately one second of research on line to find the studies. Here's one:

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full

I accept that this is not a thread about gun control, but to act as though prevalence and access to firearms is not a factor in this case is disingenuous and farcical. Don't want to be a victim of gun violence? An excellent place to start is by not having one in your home.

This also struck me, from this particular study:

Results show that regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home.

 

[oyeyemi808]

Don't want to be a victim of a criminal who breaks into your home? An excellent place to start is having a gun in your home. Just ask those who have protected their family with one.

Can't argue with the people who are alive today because they were armed and protected themselves.

This is not about the great gun debate.

This is about being responsible gun owners.

There is no reason why she should not have had that gun. But she should have been more responsible with it.

We can't argue with great grandmother either because she's dead.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kimberlyd125]

We can't argue with great grandmother either because she's dead.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Because apparently she was not a responsible gun owner.

 

[Tulessa]

Don't want to be a victim of a criminal who breaks into your home? An excellent place to start is having a gun in your home. Just ask those who have protected their family with one.

Can't argue with the people who are alive today because they were armed and protected themselves.

This is not about the great gun debate.

This is about being responsible gun owners.

There is no reason why she should not have had that gun. But she should have been more responsible with it.

We were broken into about six weeks ago. If not for my dogs waking us and a 38 under our mattress, I might not be typing this! Our area is very remote and targeted a lot. We have to have guns. This story is more about a child and I agree, it shouldn't be turned into a gun thread. But guns for us are a necessity!

 

[Kimberlyd125]

We were broken into about six weeks ago. If not for my dogs waking us and a 38 under our mattress, I might not be typing this! Our area is very remote and targeted a lot. We have to have guns. This story is more about a child and I agree, it shouldn't be turned into a gun thread. But guns for us are a necessity!

I agree.
We have a gun in our home for protection. But we are responsible and our 15 year old has been taught since she was a toddler to NEVER touch a gun (ours or anyone else's). It's kept in a safe place.

I'm not sure how this child got ahold to the gun or to that repulsive video game at 8 years old. But I can tell you the gun is not to blame here.

Had that gun been stored properly, he would have never had the chance to get his hands on it.


I feel horribly for this family. There are still a lot of unanswered questions.

 

[Tulessa]

I agree.
We have a gun in our home for protection. But we are responsible and our 15 year old has been taught since she was a toddler to NEVER touch a gun (ours or anyone else's). It's kept in a safe place.

I'm not sure how this child got ahold to the gun or to that repulsive video game at 8 years old. But I can tell you the gun is not to blame here.

Had that gun been stored properly, he would have never had the chance to get his hands on it.


I feel horribly for this family. There are still a lot of unanswered questions.

Same here Kim, during the day the 38 is in our huge gun safe. They took two cases of food and tried to take my Bunn coffeemaker! :banghead: Take the safe if you can carry it, but touch my coffee maker and Imma gonna get mad.

 

[Sonya610]

But we are responsible and our 15 year old has been taught since she was a toddler to NEVER touch a gun (ours or anyone else's). It's kept in a safe place.

Your 15 year old isn't a toddler anymore...unless she is developmentally disabled teach her how to use firearms.

 

[animlzrule]

This also struck me, from this particular study:

From cited study:

"Results show that regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home."

Yes. EVERYONE is such a responsible gun owner, and is made infinitely safer by having a firearm in their home. Until they aren't.:deadhorse::facepalm:

 

[Elley Mae]

Same here Kim, during the day the 38 is in our huge gun safe. They took two cases of food and tried to take my Bunn coffeemaker! :banghead: Take the safe if you can carry it, but touch my coffee maker and Imma gonna get mad.

I don't have a Bunn but since I stopped drinking alcohol (beer) coffee is my new addiction, take my hubby's JD but don't touch the coffee. :seeya:

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Your 15 year old isn't a toddler anymore...unless she is developmentally disabled teach her how to use firearms.

I didn't think the time is right. We will get to that when we think we should.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://theadvocate.com/home/6860976-125/investigators-say-shooter-8-played

McKey said Marie Smothers, 87, was killed by a single shot from a Colt .38-caliber Detective Special revolver detectives believe belonged to Smothers.

He said the Sheriff’s Office is withholding information on where the gun was kept in the mobile home where Smothers lived in Country Breeze Mobile Home Park on La. 67 near Hockaday Road.

A man who answered the phone number listed for Smothers’ address and said he was a relative of Smothers insisted that the shooting was not intentional.

“It was an accident,” the man said.

 

[Elley Mae]

Louisiana authorities say an 8-year-old boy intentionally shot and killed a 90-year-old woman who was his caregiver after watching a video game with violent themes.

Authorities are calling the shooting a homicide.

Garig said the woman died after suffering at least one gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The law states: "Those who have not reached the age of 10 years are exempt from criminal responsibility.

bbm

 

[Muffet]

Actually, it is a fact. It takes approximately one second of research on line to find the studies. Here's one:

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full

I accept that this is not a thread about gun control, but to act as though prevalence and access to firearms is not a factor in this case is disingenuous and farcical. Don't want to be a victim of gun violence? An excellent place to start is by not having one in your home.

I don't want to fuel a gun debate in this thread, but nor would it be right to have misinformation posted unchallenged. So...

Those studies, particularly the daddy of them, Kellerman, have been thoroughly debunked, for a multitude of reasons.

One of the most obvious problems is that correlation =/= causation.

Of course homes in dangerous neighborhoods are more likely to have guns *and* their member are more likely to be shot by someone. Having a gun in the house doesn't cause their deaths.

The second and most critical factor is that these studies do not count all the violence that is stopped because a gun is known to be in the house or simply brandished when attackers are attempting to enter, as in the case of my own family and myself.

This story is tragic, but it happened because people were irresponsible on many levels. Simply "having a gun in the house" isn't one of them. IMO








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[Kimberlyd125]

http://theadvocate.com/home/6860976-125/investigators-say-shooter-8-played

Sheriff’s deputies said the shooter and victim are related, but withheld the exact relationship to shield the child’s identity.

The district attorney said the boy’s parents live in East Baton Rouge Parish and the boy lived with the relative in order to enroll in an East Feliciana Parish school.

The shooting was reported to the state Department of Children and Family Services, McKey said.

D’Aquilla said the parents have been ordered to appear in 20th Judicial District Court on Monday for a judge to determine if the boy and his parents should receive help through the Families in Need of Services assistance program.