10-Year-Old Girl Shot Dead by Nine-Year-Old in West Virginia
by Jeromie Williams
One
family in West Virginia is finding out the hard way that gun tragedies
don't take a break during the Christmas holidays. A 10-year-old girl
was accidentally shot in the arm and chest with a shotgun by a
nine-year-old boy during a target practice session, in what the local
Sheriff 's department is calling "a hard lesson in safety."
The
two children were both taking shots at targets on Sunday, when at
around 5:30PM the young girl was accidentally shot by the younger child.
The girl was rushed to hospital after a call to 911 and was given
emergency surgery, but died overnight due to her injuries.
According to the Charleston Gazette,
the shooting is being considered accidental, but that does not put the
parents in the clear for possible charges of negligence:
While further details of the case have not been released, Sheriff's Department Cpl. Brian Humphreys said generally in cases like these involving minors, negligence of the parents must be investigated.
The preliminary investigation points to an accidental shooting, Humphreys said, and neglect is typically harder to prove in cases involving a 10-year-old as compared to a toddler.
"At this age, it's pretty much impossible to watch their every move ... they are not inherently careless at this age," Humphreys said. "We're not blaming the parents, but we do urge everyone to make sure that your firearms are secure.
Parents
are being strongly reminded to properly secure their guns and firearms
away from young children, so that tragedies such as this do not happen
again, but sadly, many of us already know that this will not be the last
story of its kind.
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