Boy kills 2-year-old brother in what police call an accidental shooting

A 9-year-old North Hills boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old brother in what police are describing as a tragic accident.

Los Angeles police responded to a radio call of an "ambulance shooting" in the 16700 block of Parthenia Street about 5:50 p.m. Friday and discovered a 2-year-old boy with a single gunshot wound to the upper torso.

Detectives determined that the boy's 9-year-old brother had accidentally shot the toddler while playing with a loaded firearm. The toddler was taken to a local hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.

KTLA reports that the older boy climbed up inside a closet and found the gun. It is not clear whether the gun was locked up. No charges are pending at this time, police said.

-- Ruben Vives

Comments

[jack]

Thank God for our 2nd amendment rights

[Randy2009]

Jack:
The second amendment (like the others) bestows both rights AND responsibilities. The repeal of Prohibition was not a license to drive drunk. Perhaps blaming inanimate objects for how they're used is just easier for you.

[larry jackson]

Dozens of questions come to mind, but let these suffice.
1. Who did the gun belong to?
2. Where was a responsible adult?
3. Is somebody going to pay, other than an inncocent child/

[TimeMatters]

Its a shame... a shame the parents were irresponsible enough to allow for this situation to occur! Guns don't kill people... people kill people. This child's death is the result of the person responsible for this firearm (registered or not), and this is what happens when "your not in control of the situation" (for whatever reasons- good or bad).

[F.M.]

Tragedy. Good to own guns, but please not around children...

[Zach]

Score one for the pro-gun activists...

Freedom isn't free, right boys? Yeeeehaaawwww!

[Marcia Twane]

This is sad and I feel badly that there was loss of life, but it just goes to show that the gun lobby, NRA, etc. is made up of a bunch of idiots.

As they say, "Guns kill people, not people"...oops, guess I have that backwards.

This case shows how stupid and wrong all their arguments are...

To put it quite simply, if the gun was not there, the child would still be alive.

Hopefully, this will teach the parents and their ilk a lesson.

[Mark]

Great idea to own guns! How is the NRA gonna spin this one? Oh yeah, EXCELLENT parenting, mom & dad. YOUR SON IS NOW A CORPSE BECAUSE OF YOU! :)

[Blue Star Mother]

My sons grew up in a home with guns, they never shot each other. Maybe it's because their step-father is a responsible gun owner with a locking gun case to which only he has a key.

[Hairy Carrion]

Guns are tools of death. The argument that they don't kill is stupid and propagandist. Guns weren't designed to cut meat. They weren't designed to draw pictures. They weren't designed to hammer nails into wood. They weren't designed to sign checks. They were designed as tools for an express and singular purpose, to kill.

And this tragic and painful event is all the more reason we should rethink the whole gun ownership thing. The children pay. 30,000 per year, pay.

[Patrick]

This is very, very sad. But, to me, this isn't really a cautionary tale about the dangers of gun ownership. It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of leaving young children unattended (I assume they were unattended). The older brother could have had a knife, or a bottle of liquid plumber, or a food the 2-year-old was allergic to (peanuts?). Obviously, keeping loaded guns around requires a great deal of additional caution. Some people are responsible enough to handle it, and clearly others aren't. But, this is not an indictment of the 2nd Amendment.

[Juan tamad]

Here is another perfect example of an irresponsible, grossly negligent single parent/parents. Don't irresponsible parent/parents or guardian know that an unsecured, loaded handgun, is more than 75 percent chance it could kill a child?

[Rick]

The problem with many liberals is that they leave personal responsibility out in the equation of life. It's always some outside variable doing something to them or in this case, an organization such as the NRA, the 2nd amendment of the Constitution, even the gun itself.

[mike m]

Of course this is a tragedy and clearly the fault of the gun owner but it not a failure of the right of responsible adults to own firearms. Anti gun persons will seize on the death of this poor child to push their position that guns except for police or military are bad. This is akin to the idiot who drives intoxicated and kills on the road. Neither the vehicle or the right to own a 2 ton SUV are the issue. No 'right' can withstand the person who insists on violating the rules of proper use. The gun owner needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and efforts should continue to bring the message of safety to gun owners.

[Eli]

I keep hearing that old cliche "guns don't kill people, people kill people" but here's the truth - bullets kill people.

So, all the gun-obsessed out there can keep your absurdly violent weapon and I propose we ban bullets. You may load your guns with blanks...or maybe mini marshmallows? Problem solved.

[Rick]

It is very sad and tragic. If you have weapons in your home, you better make sure they are locked away or are not loaded if children are around. I agree with Patrick's comments, these kids should have not been left unattended. The gun did not jumped down into the boy's hand. He got to fired it off.

[Cass]

This is very sad....but what's even sadder is some of the comments about how the gun is the bad guy....because it mysteriously became loaded, off safe and in the hands of a nine year old. This is what is ridiculous not the fact the parents owned the weapon but the mere fact it came into the hands of a child

There is nothing wrong with owning weapons!!! How do you think our ancestors survived to bring us into this world....it wasn't all just livestock and raised food...it was hunting and surviving....

Should someone be held liable, That's the questions of questions but these parents are going to have to live with the fact that they made a very irresponsible mistake for the rest of their lives ....this is alot of guilt and punishment.

I will throw it out that...I have guns in my home...both my children are rasied to know that weapons are very dangerous and the things they could do, but in fact with this my guns are in a gun safe in my closet out of sight, locked up, unloaded, and on safe.

If you are going to own a gun you should know a least the basics and if you have children it's your JOB TO ENSURE Their safey at all times!!!!! This really upsets me and not just with this incidents but with others...i.e. POOLS, kids a drowning and now people say Parents should own them....not the cause PARENTS shouldn't be taking a NAP with their kids outside around an unlocked POOL>

Can everyone just grow up and do what we need to do and that's rasie our next generation to RUN this country!!!!

[jad]

Another typical result of a home defense system.

[Edge]

Thats why I keep my firearm unloaded and away from my teens. I do have ammo, but it's in a separate place from the weapon itself. I'm very sorry for the boy's loss, how tragic.

[tsu4shi]

There are no safe place if kids are determined to find guns. They almost have same ability as adults do when they are focused on one thing. Owing gun at house with kids,risk would never be zero.

[KK]

The gun was obviously not locked up because if it had been, the boy wouldn't have been able to shoot it. The adult responsible for th gun should deserves prison time.

[Coco]

@Randy2009

If 2nd amendment fanatics cared even half as much about the responsibilities of gun ownership as they do about gun rights, there would be - at the very least - a gun licensing and training system like there is for driving.

Bringing up driving as an analogy only supports the arguments of people who believe guns should be regulated. Perhaps if gun owners were required to get firearm training, get a license for, and register their firearms they would take the responsibilities of gun ownership a little more seriously. Then, when a tragic gun death does occur we can treat it like a case of individual irresponsibility (like drunk driving) rather part of a systematic problem with our approach to deadly weapons.

[peaches33]

We dont think this was accidently..

we are hoping for charges on the father and 9 year old brother

please keep our family in your prayers

[A.R.]

So sorry for this little boy who has to live with this tragedy. He can rightly blame the guns rights nutjobs that think we all need to be an armed militia at the ready.

[Mark James]

to Hairy Carrion, and automobiles are designed for transportation, and they kill 40, 000 people a year. nobody's screaming about a car ban. it was a tragic accident, it should not have happened. but you can't just ban cars, swimming pools, airplanes and anything else that could potentially be involved in an accident. be alert, be aware, and be safe.