12 year old kills 11 year old brother with shotgun

[philip964]

http://www.click2houston.com/news/Deput ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very sad. RIP.

Happened in Hockley. Parents were both at work when boys discovered shotgun in parent's closet.

[Heartland Patriot]

This was run by "the press" to back up their ridiculous claims about "guns in the home". Well, I have two things to say on this: ONE, why were a 12 and 11 year old at home by themselves, which the story seems to suggest. And TWO, doesn't Texas already have a law on the books to cover leaving loaded firearms where minors (children) may access them? So, other than the obvious tragedy of the story in and of itself, what is the point here? The point SHOULD BE: Follow gun safety rules and don't have kids running around by themselves and you can cut out a lot of this stuff. Sorry, calling it like I see it. It irks me when I see something preventable like this in the news.

*EDITED TO ADD*

Yes, I know that many were left home alone as kids back in the olden days and and nothing bad happened because of it...but back then kids were taught different, too.

[LSL]

A tragic reminder that each gun owner is responsible -- with each firearm.
IMO
The first, "free" safety measure is to teach our children safety rule and conduct.

Next, is to prevent an unsupervised weapon from being fired/operated.
Locks, trigger guards, lock boxes and safes range from $10s, $100s, $1,000, but can be applied according to purpose.

Third, be certain to apply items one and two -- every day, every time a weapon is potentially near a young one -- toddle to teenager particularly.
Always be certain - no "Did I leave the water running" type moments.

Make no complaint about cost -- in fact, spend more than might be comfortable for the better or best option(s).
Compare the expense of securing a firearm to the cost -- in dollars and misery -- of a funeral or medical bills -- let alone legal consequences.

Chose to own a firearm -- accept the 24/7/365 lifetime responsibility that accompanies that choice.

[philip964]

My dad offered me a drink of beer when I was six, he offered me beer a lot when I was young. Hated it.
I didn't really drink beer till I was a junior in College.

I offered Champagne to my son when he was six, offered it to him a lot when he was young. He still doesn't drink Champagne at 30.

Hiding a shotgun in the closet, is not the thing to do. Way to much fun to find it and try it out. Trigger locks are great, but they will find the keys anyway. Teach and show them. Make sure their shoulder gets bruised. Show what it does to a pumpkin. Teach them the rules.

I was baby sitting my 2 and 3 year old brother and sister at 12.

It was the forbidden fruit.

[C-dub]

This was run by "the press" to back up their ridiculous claims about "guns in the home". Well, I have two things to say on this: ONE, why were a 12 and 11 year old at home by themselves, which the story seems to suggest. And TWO, doesn't Texas already have a law on the books to cover leaving loaded firearms where minors (children) may access them? So, other than the obvious tragedy of the story in and of itself, what is the point here? The point SHOULD BE: Follow gun safety rules and don't have kids running around by themselves and you can cut out a lot of this stuff. Sorry, calling it like I see it. It irks me when I see something preventable like this in the news.

*EDITED TO ADD*

Yes, I know that many were left home alone as kids back in the olden days and and nothing bad happened because of it...but back then kids were taught different, too.

But then there's your addendum. A lot of bad things did happen to kids that were home alone. They just didn't happen to very many of us because we are the survivors or the one's that didn't do dumb things. I'm one of the former. I did dub things as a kid and young adult and some unlucky things happened to me, but somehow managed to survive. I guess God still has something for me to do. More people survived these things, but a lot didn't.

[Heartland Patriot]

My dad offered me a drink of beer when I was six, he offered me beer a lot when I was young. Hated it.
I didn't really drink beer till I was a junior in College.

I offered Champagne to my son when he was six, offered it to him a lot when he was young. He still doesn't drink Champagne at 30.

Hiding a shotgun in the closet, is not the thing to do. Way to much fun to find it and try it out. Trigger locks are great, but they will find the keys anyway. Teach and show them. Make sure their shoulder gets bruised. Show what it does to a pumpkin. Teach them the rules.

I was baby sitting my 2 and 3 year old brother and sister at 12.

It was the forbidden fruit.

When I was a kid, my dad had an old break-open 12 gauge he kept by the bed, loaded. External hammer type. He did just what you described. I remember him going to the Hempstead farmers' market when I was little, and buying some melons and shooting them someplace out in the woods. He said something like, "if you mess with this, that can happen to your head" and I believed him. I was the oldest kid and it was also my "job" to help keep my younger brother and sister away from "THE SHOTGUN" so nothing bad happened to them, either. That was the only gun that was kept out and it was kept in the same place, ALWAYS. We did NOT mess with that shotgun, and I am NOT exaggerating. (Plus, IF we had, we'd have gotten a "whuppin"). I grew up around guns, learned safe gun handling and I believe it to be very important, indeed, in preventing tragic incidents like the one in the OP story.

[Dreamliner]

Damn shame. Train your kids on firearms safety and lock/secure up your guns if you've got kids at home, please.

[Jumping Frog]

There are two paths: kid-proof your guns or you can gun-proof your kids.