Often when a child is accidentally shot by a friend or family member no one goes to jail, the reasoning being that the shooter has suffered enough. As a result, the penalty for such shootings varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
On Christmas Eve last year, 2-month-old Kestyn Davis was shot to death by her father, who was playing with a 9-mm handgun at their East Lampeter, Pa., home. G. Scott Davis, 36, pleaded guilty, but a judge decided not to imprison him, saying it would compound a tragedy and serve no purpose. The judge instead sentenced him to six years of probation, saying that he was “certain this is something that will haunt you the rest of your life.”
Davis said the day of the shooting replays in his mind daily, and told the judge that he loved his daughter. “I was so proud of my wife and family. I had such big dreams for her,” he said.
In October, 4-year-old Zoie Dougan was shot in the head and killed by a man who was target shooting in his backyard in Rogersville, Mo. The man had no idea Zoie was in range of his .22 caliber rifle as he took aim at a pile of trash, and he was reportedly distraught. The Christian County Prosecutor decided earlier this month not to file charges.
The girl’s mother, Alyssa, cried hysterically at the scene, but also reportedly told police, “Don’t let (him) get in trouble, it was an accident.” The man, who has not been identified, told officers he knew shooting at that location “wasn’t good judgment. I understand that.”
But Jeffery David Perez, 32, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to secure a firearm when his 4-year-old son, Killian Perez, died while playing with a handgun in Fayetteville, N.C., last November. Perez, a soldier in the United States Army who was stationed at Fort Bragg, was home alone watching his son and two twin babies when the victim grabbed the loaded handgun from the top of a refrigerator and shot himself.
In the wake of shooting, Fayetteville police said that parents should have a safe in their homes so kids do not confuse a gun for a toy. “Our children sometimes just don’t know the difference and that’s kind of what happened in this case,” Sgt. Steven Bates said.
Here is today’s report.
via Weekend Gun Report: March 28-30, 2014 – NYTimes.com.
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