The boy, described as about 5 years old, was inside a booster seat and unbuckled himself as his mother pulled up to the drive-thru, according to Randleman police.
The child was able to get a .45 semi-automatic handgun from a pocket on the car’s back front passenger seat. Police said the gun went off and the child was shot in the face.
The child was taken to Randolph Health and flown to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Officials have not released the victim’s name. He is in critical condition.
Police said the mother and her child were the only people in the car at the time. The gun belonged to the boy’s father who said he put it in the back pocket of the front seat while vacuuming two days earlier, according to police. Police said he forgot about the gun and the mother did not know it was there.
But, if “the gun went off” and “no one was responsible” then, it would follow that the gun actually did hurt someone. Is that not an accurate interpretation?
Not so fast. The NRA only says that “guns don’t kill people”, they’ve never made any representations about guns not maiming and disfiguring children for life.
Gun makers would strongly disagree. It’s only an accident if the gun fires itself through being jarred or other mishap. If it fired through a trigger pull, then it’s user error.
Obviously there’s a need for gun safety courses for five year olds. /s
