Stupid decisions by stupid people often lead to completely avoidable tragedies.
WXYZ Detroit: Detroit mother charged for unsafe storage of weapon after six-year-old killed in accidental shooting
Detroit mom decided to go to a restaurant and left her five, yes five, children ages 2 through 11 years old in her car, along with a firearm that was simply shoved under her seat and into the restaurant she went.
Left to themselves, the 11-year-old then retrieved the firearm and shot and killed the 6-year-old.
Do not leave an unsecured firearm, shoved under the front seat, which is not a good idea even if alone, and especially not where kids can get it.
The mom should have had the firearm on her person, or at the very least taken all her kids into the restaurant with her and not left them alone in the vehicle.
But, she likely couldn't take the firearm in to the restaurant with her, as while the reporting is confused, it appears she was a felon in possession at the time, as she's been charged with 4 counts of felony firearm as in addition to the gun left in the car, other firearms were also found at her house.
Tonya Charisse-Annie Johnson, 41, has been charged with:
- Firearms — Safe Storage Violations — Premises Under Individual's Control — Minor Present and Inflicted Death upon Self or Another
- Three counts of Second-Degree Child Abuse
- Four counts of Felony Firearm
In short, be responsible and do not leave your firearms where they are readily accessible to unsupervised children.
3 comments:
These tragedies are the worst, because they are avoided quite simply. Too bad that people can't be bothered to ensure that nobody other than the person intended is able to retrieve their firearm.
It would have been much better if the woman had simply kept the gun in her purse and brought it into the restaurant. At least that way, a child likely would not have been killed.
Of course taking that gun into the restaurant would have been against the law, but better to take a chance on being caught with an illegal possession charge than to have a young life snuffed out due to egregious behavior. I myself live in Michigan, so of course I would never take a gun into any place that is meant to be considered a gun free zone. If I did, I might get yelled at, and have my CCW permit taken away from me.
As far as how the legal firearm carrier with a CCW is supposed to know exactly how much revenue a restaurant/bar gets from food sales and how much they get from the sale of alcohol. 50% is the supposed limit here, but as I said, I wonder just how I am expected to know the financials of said business, unless they post it on the front door.
So 5 kids left in the car so she could go in to the restaurant (probably to the bar).... I hope the 3 innocent kids go to good homes. The 11 year old needs to go to juvie for playing with the gun in the first place.
That is a tragedy, she will have to live with that, regardless of what else happens.
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