Another sad incident involving the fatal loss of a toddler getting access to a gun, turning the trigger and killing himself in the process. Just yesterday, we reported the sad and shocking news of a 5-year-old killing his 2-year-old brother with a gun he found on the floor, and reporting a similar incident within 24 hours makes our hearts really heavy!
As reported by WTSP, yesterday, a two-year-old boy in Florida dies after he pulled his father’s gun from the glove compartment of his parent’s car, and accidentally shoots himself in the chest as his parents were loading the trunk because they were moving out of their home. It was also reported that as soon as the family heard a popping noise, they immediately rushed out to perform CPR on the child and was rushed rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri also confirmed that the parents won’t be facing criminal charges because the guilt they’ll leave with for the rest of their lives is more than any punishment that can be given to them. A “tragic situation” where “everything happens the wrong way,” is how Gualtieri described the situation. “I don’t think anybody can punish these parents any more than what they’ve been punished,” Gualtieri said. “This is something they will carry with them and live with the rest of their lives.”
“They took reasonable steps, and you can lawfully keep a gun in a vehicle in the glove box. It was secured in the glove box itself,” Gaultieri said, according to CBS affiliate WTSP.
Additionally, Investigators also said the parents had taken “reasonable steps” to protect the gun with the sherriff further stating that the boy had apparently pulled the trigger himself because the shell casing was not completely ejected, which is what would be expected of someone with a weak wrist like the boy’s. Furthermore, the narrations from family members regarding the location of the gun and how it probably got into the boy’s hands were consistent.
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