Something's funny in Wildwood. Anyone know any 3 year olds who can chamber a round and advance down the hall and point a weapon at someone? I'm sure they mean a .22 rifle but what's a redlight scope? I would imagine total weight at maybe 5 pounds and ength at around 35-40 inches. Quite a load for a 3 year old to be swinging around. I don't think we're hearing the real story.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...+grazes+grandmother+after+boy,+3,+grabs+rifle
Bullet grazes grandmother after boy, 3, grabs rifle
By Heather Ratcliffe
Of the Post-Dispatch
A 3-year-old boy unintentionally shot his grandmother in the neck Sunday evening when he found a loaded rifle at his home in Wildwood.
Nancy Fawcett, 65, narrowly missed a fatal shot as she ducked out of the way, her family said. The bullet grazed her.
"If she had not moved, the bullet would have gone through her forehead," said the boy's mother, Renee Hansen. "It was so close. It could have been a terrible tragedy."
The .22-gauge rifle had fallen from a wall-mounted gun rack as Scott Hansen moved furniture out of a bedroom about 8:30 p.m.
The family was packing its belongings onto a truck for a move to South Carolina today.
Hansen leaned the rifle against the wall for a moment while he stepped outside. That's when his son, Tyler Hansen, found it.
Tyler advanced a round into the chamber and carried the gun down the hall, his mother said. He peeked around the corner into the living room, where his mother, grandmother and 2-year-old sister were sitting.
"I thought he had one of his toy guns until I noticed the red light scope on it," Renee Hansen said.
Tyler pointed the rifle toward Fawcett and pulled the trigger.
The bullet passed through the headrest on the rocking chair where Fawcett was sitting.
"It sounded like an explosion," Renee Hansen said.
Paramedics took Fawcett to St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where she received 10 stitches in her neck.
St. Louis County police called the shooting accidental.
"My husband assumed that Tyler could never chamber a round because he wasn't strong enough," Renee Hansen said. "It's very careless on our part."
Fawcett, a teacher from Chesterfield, was home recovering Monday.
"It certainly wasn't my grandson's fault," Fawcett said in a brief phone interview. "It was an accident."
Renee Hansen said she expects to use the experience as a lesson about gun safety for both her children.
"I'm also having a long talk with my husband," she said. "I thought he was being responsible."
Renee Hansen said her family kept guns locked in the basement and high out of the reach of children.
"But with little kids, it only takes one second for them to stumble into a fluke opportunity," she said. "Bullets and guns and kids don't mix."
Reporter Heather Ratcliffe
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 618-659-3637
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...+grazes+grandmother+after+boy,+3,+grabs+rifle
Bullet grazes grandmother after boy, 3, grabs rifle
By Heather Ratcliffe
Of the Post-Dispatch
A 3-year-old boy unintentionally shot his grandmother in the neck Sunday evening when he found a loaded rifle at his home in Wildwood.
Nancy Fawcett, 65, narrowly missed a fatal shot as she ducked out of the way, her family said. The bullet grazed her.
"If she had not moved, the bullet would have gone through her forehead," said the boy's mother, Renee Hansen. "It was so close. It could have been a terrible tragedy."
The .22-gauge rifle had fallen from a wall-mounted gun rack as Scott Hansen moved furniture out of a bedroom about 8:30 p.m.
The family was packing its belongings onto a truck for a move to South Carolina today.
Hansen leaned the rifle against the wall for a moment while he stepped outside. That's when his son, Tyler Hansen, found it.
Tyler advanced a round into the chamber and carried the gun down the hall, his mother said. He peeked around the corner into the living room, where his mother, grandmother and 2-year-old sister were sitting.
"I thought he had one of his toy guns until I noticed the red light scope on it," Renee Hansen said.
Tyler pointed the rifle toward Fawcett and pulled the trigger.
The bullet passed through the headrest on the rocking chair where Fawcett was sitting.
"It sounded like an explosion," Renee Hansen said.
Paramedics took Fawcett to St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where she received 10 stitches in her neck.
St. Louis County police called the shooting accidental.
"My husband assumed that Tyler could never chamber a round because he wasn't strong enough," Renee Hansen said. "It's very careless on our part."
Fawcett, a teacher from Chesterfield, was home recovering Monday.
"It certainly wasn't my grandson's fault," Fawcett said in a brief phone interview. "It was an accident."
Renee Hansen said she expects to use the experience as a lesson about gun safety for both her children.
"I'm also having a long talk with my husband," she said. "I thought he was being responsible."
Renee Hansen said her family kept guns locked in the basement and high out of the reach of children.
"But with little kids, it only takes one second for them to stumble into a fluke opportunity," she said. "Bullets and guns and kids don't mix."
Reporter Heather Ratcliffe
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 618-659-3637
