6 year old brings gun to school, 3 injured.

CrispyDelicious · #1 04-20-2011, 08:46 AM

3 kindergartners wounded when gun discharges at Houston school - CNN.com

CNN) -- A loaded handgun fell out of a student's pocket onto the lunchroom floor and discharged Tuesday, wounding him and two other kindergartners in a Houston elementary school, the school district said.
None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, Houston Independent School District spokesman Jason Spencer told CNN.
The school district and Houston police are investigating how the 6-year-old who brought the gun to school obtained the weapon, Spencer said. "It's a crime to make a gun available to a child."
The weapon discharged once, and the children may have been hit by bullet fragments, Spencer said.
Five-year-old Jarneshia Broussard, a student who witnessed the incident, told CNN Houston affiliate KTRK the gun "fell, and then it shot."
"We were by each other and then it shot and the little girl started crying," Jarneshia recalled.
The two boys and one girl, all of them kindergarten students at Ross Elementary School, were taken to a hospital and their parents were notified, Spencer said.
He did not know their specific conditions, but said "the prognosis is good for these kids."
The boy who reportedly brought the gun and a girl were wounded in the foot, Spencer said. The third student, a boy, was struck in the leg.
Concerned parents flocked to the school to check on their children, CNN Houston affiliate KTRK reported.
"We made a recorded call to every parent," Spencer told CNN.
In 2006-2007, the latest year in which statistics are available, nearly 2,700 students nationwide were expelled or disciplined for bringing a gun to school, said William Modzeleski, associate assistant deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
About 15% of them were elementary school students, Modzeleski told CNN. Those numbers track the previous year's numbers, he added.
"It's a school, community and a family problem," the official said. "If you bring a gun to school, this is a crime."
In elementary school situations, the student might bring a gun in for "show and tell" or it might have been left in a backpack by a parent or stepparent, Modzeleski said. Parents must ensure a weapon is secured at home, and not simply hidden, he said.
The problem can be found in schools everywhere, he said. "We have to get kids on board" to solve the problem, Modzeleski said.
According to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, from 1993 to 2003 there was a decrease in the percentage of high school students who reported carrying a weapon on school property at least once in the past 30 days. There was no significant change between 2003 and 2009.
Many schools are pushing prevention and other methods, such as random "wanding" of students with hand-held electronic devices to detect metal, because pass-through metal detectors are costly to staff, are labor intensive and take away from time for teaching, Modzeleski said.
Houston Police will lead the investigation into Tuesday's incident.
The school district had three cases of students bringing guns in the last school year, all at elementary schools, Spencer said.
"We are asking principals to remind (parents to check) where the guns are in their house," the spokesman said.

/headdesk

Pilgrim · #2 04-20-2011, 08:49 AM

This is more a problem with the parents than the kid.

NO WAY should that firearm have been accessible. Parents should be investigated and probably charged.

macaroni tony · #3 04-20-2011, 08:56 AM

No words for this. I wanna smack the parents

Rickengeezer · #4 04-20-2011, 08:59 AM

Our Governor probably just decided to extend his policy down a few grades:

Texas set to allow guns on college campuses - CBS News

**colcifer** · #5 04-20-2011, 09:15 AM

Dear Texas,
Yes, you may secede from the Union.

Seriously though, I'm all for teaching kids responsible gun use and ownership but that's obviously not what happens in that family. I hope those ******** parents don't see the light of day for a long, long time.

sloasdaylight · #6 04-20-2011, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rickengeezer

Our Governor probably just decided to extend his policy down a few grades:

Texas set to allow guns on college campuses - CBS News

This makes me happy to hear. I hope this spreads.

Back onto the original topic, I want to know what type of shoddy gun the kid had that dropping it caused it to discharge.

**nutdog** · #7 04-20-2011, 09:47 AM

Sounds like something my kids would say--"I didn't do it. It was on the floor and went off."

Three injured kids with one shot. They got some amazing bullets in Texas. Must be that Lee Harvey majicload.

Deluge Of Sound · #8 04-20-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutdog

Three injured kids with one shot. They got some amazing bullets in Texas. Must be that Lee Harvey majicload.

NateS · #9 04-20-2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutdog

Three injured kids with one shot. They got some amazing bullets in Texas. Must be that Lee Harvey majicload.

LMAO!

MatticusMania · #10 04-20-2011, 10:13 AM

How does a 6 year old know where to find his parents gun? It took me twice as long to find Dad's .357.

WalterBush · #11 04-20-2011, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

Back onto the original topic, I want to know what type of shoddy gun the kid had that dropping it caused it to discharge.

I was curious about this, too. When someone causes a wreck, the news outlets often let us know what the driver was driving. I'd love to know what kind of gun, in this day and age, goes off because it hit the floor.

All I can figure is the kid must have got dad's single-action revolver cocked and ready to go. Which, again, brings it back to the parents, their lack of gun safety teaching (even my 5 year old knows you don't point even a toy gun at somebody, and we don't even have a firearm in the house), and why their gun wasn't out of reach of the kid.

fenderhutz · #12 04-20-2011, 10:47 AM

These parents probably let their 6 year old play Call of Duty or watch daddy play it.

stratovani · #13 04-20-2011, 10:48 AM

I would comment on this but a couple of years ago I got written up by the mods for a comment I made over a similar but far worse incident. I'm keeping my mouth shut for now.

Clark Dark · #14 04-20-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

This is more a problem with the parents than the kid.

NO WAY should that firearm have been accessible. Parents should be investigated and probably charged.

Probably ???!!!???

kaputsport · #15 04-20-2011, 10:57 AM

I think I am going to pi$$ of some of you here, but...

While I agree the parents should have been more careful, and honestly, the 5 year old should not have brought it to school. However to say it is because of Call Of Duty, or whatever is hysterical.

The young kid probably found the firearm (which should have been locked up) in his parents nightstand (where he should have not been anyway) and brought it to school. Had he gone to his moms side of the bed, he would be jailed on drug possession charges, so 6 of 1, half a dozen the other.

While the parents are not following implied rules about locking the gun up, neither do I. Should I be charged?

MatticusMania · #16 04-20-2011, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stratovani

I would comment on this but a couple of years ago I got written up by the mods for a comment I made over a similar but far worse incident. I'm keeping my mouth shut for now.

Maybe you can better word your comment to express your feelings whilst still adhering to TBOTs forum rules? Many people seem to do so on a regular basis.

MatticusMania · #17 04-20-2011, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaputsport

While the parents are not following implied rules about locking the gun up, neither do I. Should I be charged?

If you have children in your house, and your gun is located somewhere where a child could potentially get his hands on it, then yes, you should probably be charged. As should the parents of this 6 year old.

Fishheadjoe · #18 04-20-2011, 11:26 AM

Firstly, let me say that given my country of origin and my lack of experience with easy access to firearms, I find this item to be shocking. Having said that, what I find even more disturbing is the fact that folks here, commenting on this incident have not once mentioned that fact that these people even had access to a firearm.
Getting a fire arm in this country and especially a hand gun is an extremely difficult and time consuming process. Permits and courses are required to apply for one, it seems to me that either the parents weren't required to get these things and simply had to pay enough to obtain the gun or they simply didn't care enough to bother caring.
I know you guys like your guns, heck I've fired many a fire arm in my day, but when a 6 year old can access a deadly weapon, IMHO, it's time to start to consider how accessible guns are to the public. It's obvious that the current system in place is just not cutting it!
I am preparing for the onslaught of negetive respones to my post.
Fishheadjoe

fenderhutz · #19 04-20-2011, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaputsport

However to say it is because of Call Of Duty, or whatever is hysterical.

Not saying it's because of Call of Duty, but it's deplorable to think people play games where you are killing people very realistically in front of kids or even let a 5 year old play such games.

Huge fail as a parent and I was just mentioning these types of grade A parents I could see this happening.

MatticusMania · #20 04-20-2011, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishheadjoe

Firstly, let me say that given my country of origin and my lack of experience with easy access to firearms, I find this item to be shocking. Having said that, what I find even more disturbing is the fact that folks here, commenting on this incident have not once mentioned that fact that these people even had access to a firearm.
Getting a fire arm in this country and especially a hand gun is an extremely difficult and time consuming process. Permits and courses are required to apply for one, it seems to me that either the parents weren't required to get these things and simply had to pay enough to obtain the gun or they simply didn't care enough to bother caring.
I know you guys like your guns, heck I've fired many a fire arm in my day, but when a 6 year old can access a deadly weapon, IMHO, it's time to start to consider how accessible guns are to the public. It's obvious that the current system in place is just not cutting it!
I am preparing for the onslaught of negetive respones to my post.
Fishheadjoe

Im not a pro or antigun guy per se, but its not the parent's acquiring a gun that is really the problem. I know here in Cali there are evaluations and permits one must go through to purchase one. Then there are illegal black market arms being bought and sold as well. I dont know if the parents here were permitted to have the gun, but the problem is more with their lack of keeping it out of access to a child. One can only expect the system to do so much before it becomes an issue of personal responsibility.

I know my father has had a gun since I was a youngin. I never knew where it was until I was much older and snooping through my parents stuff. This entire situation could have been avoided had the parents simply kept the gun under lock and key.