the family of a Florida corrections officer, in the United States, has encountered the greatest of tragedies due to a series of catastrophic coincidences that involve, once again, the presence of a firearm in his home. The youngest of his children, only 3 years old, shot himself in the face with a pistol that their parents kept in a drawer.
Volusia County Sheriff, Mike Chiltwoodconfirmed the event, which occurred last Wednesday, in a harsh press conference in which he could barely maintain his composure due to the event.
“I don’t think there is anything in the legislation that can punish that family more than it has already punished it tonight,” the officer lamented. As he explained, around mid-afternoon they received a call from a house in DeLand, Florida, in which a 16-year-old girl stated that she had had found his 3-year-old little brother shot in the face.
Both she and the other 7-year-old son in the family were in complete shock. The young woman had stayed in the care of the children while her parents were shopping.
According to the first investigations, the boy took a 9 mm pistol from his parents’ nightstand, pointed it at his face and pulled the trigger. The sheriff noted that the model of the weapon, a Canik 9mmIt’s not especially sensitive, as it takes about 2 kilos of pressure for the trigger to actuate, but it showed that even for a child it is relatively easy to activate it, as was evident in this incident.
The parents, still in a state of shock, stated that they normally kept their weapons in a safe, but that the electronic lock had broken and therefore they had left them safe, thinking that the little ones were not going to access it. . In fact, in the domicile registry They found another gun, a Glock, on top of the fridge..
Unintentional shootings with children so far in 2023 in the US
Nine of those children have died
The presence of firearms near minors, especially young children, is becoming a serious problem in the United States. According to data from the ‘Everytown for Gun Safety’ association, so far in 2023 there have been at least 21 unintentional shootings by children in the United States, resulting in 9 deaths and 12 injuries. In 2022, the number rose to 324, with 145 fatalities and 189 injuries..
Family and police officers, with psychological help
The trauma that it has caused for the family is very hard, but also for the police officers themselves. The Department of Children and Families of the State of Florida has taken charge of the situation and has facilitated psychological help for both. However, the problem does not end there.
“To all parents who have guns: If you have young children, even teenagers, you should store them very well because you just don’t know what can happen,” the sheriff asked.
