Utah boy shot by friend.

[12 Volt Man]

I am not sure what to make of this one. The gun just "went off" when he pointed it at his buddy. I do not know if the gun owner had a CCW permit or not, but he could get in trouble for leaving it in his car. This is a nightmare I would hate to see happen to any of us.
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12-Year-Old Boy Dies from Gunshot Wound
Sep. 9, 2003
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (AP) -- A 12-year-old boy shot in the head after he and another boy found a gun has died, authorities said Tuesday.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was cleaning a garage with a 14-year-old friend Monday afternoon when they found a handgun in a car in the garage, said South Jordan Police spokeswoman Jodi Skogg.




When the older boy handled the gun, it went off, Skogg said.

Police found the boy lying on the garage floor about 4 p.m.

The 12-year-old was taken by helicopter to Primary Children's Hospital, where he was placed on life support. He died at 4 a.m. Tuesday, Skogg said.

Police are conferring with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office on whether to file charges against the gun owner and the 14-year-old, who police said was the last person to handle the pistol before the shooting.

The owner was not the father of either boy.

Skogg said detectives found a loaded magazine in the pistol but were unsure whether there was a round in the chamber when the older boy picked it up. The gun was fired only once.

At worst, the boy could be charged with manslaughter and the gun owner with negligent endangerment, depending on what prosecutors determine, Skogg said.

"Detectives have to screen charges on what they've seen," she said. Whether charges are filed is "totally up to the district attorney's office. I'm hoping they'll find out today."

Until then, South Jordan police continue to consider the shooting an accident, she said.

Police Chief Dan Peason on Monday said investigators "have absolutely no reason to believe it was anything other than an accidental shooting."

 

[Atticus]

Very sad... and preventable. If you're not carrying it, lock it up - kids will do dumb stuff.

 

[Jake]

While I fully agree with the idea of locking it up when not carrying, what with having 4 kids myself, I also think this is a sad result of not teaching kids the rules of safe gun handling. The further modern society slips away from the use and ownership of firearms as an accepted nor, the more likely things like this are liable to happen simply because kids are not properly trained and have no respect for firearms. My theory is start teaching them young, not only for their own enjoyment and the continuation of the sport, but for their own safety as well.

 

[Standing Wolf]

There are no freedoms without responsibilities. Some people just don't get it.

 

[Parker Dean]

I'm with Jake. If the 14yo had been familiarized with the 4 rules this probably would not have happened (hey, he might have meant it).

 

[who me]

The gun owner wasn't the father of either boy. He should of double checked and checked again to make sure no guns were left where these boys could have grabbed one before he let them clean the garage.

 

[Atticus]

There's plenty of blame to go around- always is. I agree that safe gun handling should be taught at an early age- I do it now with my kids. Unfortunately, there are many non-gun owning folks, who don't own guns and know nothing about them, who are sending their kids into a world full of guns. The responsibility for preventing deaths like this one, like it or not, falls on gun owners.

 

[Mark Tyson]

Fortunatly if you look at the big picture, gun accident deaths have been going down for years.

 

[greyhound]

Fortunatly if you look at the big picture, gun accident deaths have been going down for years.

True, but the media hype over each of them is ever increasing, giving the opposite impression....

 

[TarpleyG]

Skogg said detectives found a loaded magazine in the pistol but were unsure whether there was a round in the chamber when the older boy picked it up.

***??? Of course there way a round in the chamber unless the kid racked the slide first. If he did that, he knows more about guns than he is letting us believe.

GT

 

[TallPine]

Sounds like the kid was "accidently" pointing the gun at his "friend's" head, and then "accidently" pulled the trigger ...


(BTW, I just "accidently" wrote this post)

 

[El Tejon]

Golly, I don't need to teach my kids the Four Rules I (always lock mine up, don't have any, etc.). Lesson learned: teach your children well, if you cannot, find someone who can.

14! I knew better at 5.

May he be tortured for the rest of his life for his irresponsible behavior. May he remember that red mist for the rest of his days.

 

[tyme]

Tallpine, he didn't accidentally pull the trigger. Didn't you read the article? The gun just "went off" while he was "handling" it.

How is this accidental? What kind of 14yo doesn't know how a gun works, regardless of whether s/he's used one before? If you're this dumb as a HS freshman, maybe you ought to be put out of your misery.

 

[Doug444]

Ok, folks, a good friend of mine lives just a few doors away from where this incident occured. He told me Tuesday am that the parents of the victim were headed to the hospital to very likely discontinue life support. NOT a decision I'd wish on any parent. His son, 15, is one of my Scouts (soon to be an Eagle - I hope), and after years (literally) of hearing about safe firearms handling from me, his comment to his dad was along the lines of "duh, they shouldn't have been pointing it at each other!" I guess sometimes it DOES sink in.

My friend tells me that the gun was unloaded with the mag out when the boys found it under the seat of the car. This may or may not be legal transport in Utah - I'll have to look that up. Don't know if the slide was back or not (probably not), but the older boy supposedly DID insert the mag. Anything beyond this would be speculation at this point.

The latest in this am's paper is that the gun owner does NOT have a CCW, which is really of no consequence as the handgun was in his PARKED CAR in his garage. Not the best place to store it, but not illegal either. Also, they are now saying that the gun "went off" rolleyes: I HATE that statement!) when the boy was tring to put it back in it's holster (most likely with his finger on the trigger ), which means he'd previously removed it from its holster.

I'd like to say that it's likely neither of these two had been through a Hunter Education course, but we'll probably never know that. We don't cover handguns extensively in the course anyway.

El T - I, too, hope that this young man is forever tortured by his mistake, but not out of vindictiveness. Rather I hope that he accepts his responsibility in this tragedy and does not transfer the blame. A hard lesson, to be sure.

There are lessons in this for all of us.

Doug444

 

[TallPine]

Didn't you read the article? The gun just "went off" while he was "handling" it.

Tyme, sorry - my computer just "went off" while I was handling it

 

[RustyHammer]

Ignorance is deadly. Should have known the 4 rules. :banghead:

 

[Archer]

If anyone is to blame, it is as much the people working to prevent any and all discussion of gun safety in schools, and those who brought up these unfortunate boys without any proper guidance on the subject.

In other words, the VPC and those of their ilk share in the bloodshed.

 

[MAKOwner]

I don't see how it's the owners fault, even if the thing was fully loaded with the mag in the gun. It was at the least in his car, under a freakin seat, in a holster. I wouldn't be expecting the boys to go digging through my car while "cleaning the garage"... The kids made the decision to mess with the thing, remove it from the holster etc. And in this particular case it sounds like they actually inserted the mag and chambered a round??? I'm sorry I don't lay any blame whatsoever on the owner over that one...

 

[TallPine]

The boy, whose name has not been released, was cleaning a garage with a 14-year-old friend Monday afternoon when they found a handgun in a car in the garage, said South Jordan Police spokeswoman Jodi Skogg.

"cleaning a garage" .... I wonder if they even had permission to be in the garage ...?

Maybe they were "cleaning out" his garage, instead.

 

[Doug444]

Latest from this am's Trib is that the gun owner will NOT be charged, but charges are still pending for the shooter. I've now also spoken with a fellow HE instructor who has a father/son in his current class that live 2 doors down from the shooting location. According to him/them, every kid in the neighborhood knew where the gun owner kept his gun.

As always, the more people you hear from the more stories you get .

Chances are we'll never know the real story due to sealed juvenile records.

Sad.

 

[BerettaNut92]

Skogg said detectives found a loaded magazine in the pistol but were unsure whether there was a round in the chamber when the older boy picked it up. The gun was fired only once.

I guess we know now, huh?

Truly sad