Deputy's wife killed when gun goes off in hands of 4-year-old

[ILikeTobacco]

I have a bias that tools designed for killing are lethal? Nice.

You have a bias for not wanting people to legally protect themselves. You live in a fantasy world where nobody ever has a reason to protect themselves just because you don't. You just fabricated a lie even though statistics say otherwise. Good job sidetracking though for being proven wrong. Nobodies fault but your own you can't back your own side without facts

I'm seriously doubting that anyone but you and I read this article.... the comments on here certainly reflect that at least.

The kid was not related to either the Sherrif or his wife. The kid was just a kid of one of their friends.

But yes, this was'nt "bad storage". This is a classic case of a very very bad accident. They were showing the guns to a friend, and basically they say, that as soon as they set the handgun down, with in 4 seconds, the little kid had picked it up and shot it. It was stupid of them to really have a kid in the room with all that deadly fire power.

Agreed. If someone wasn't holding it it should have went back into storage or where ever they grabbed it from. I would never put a loaded weapon down like that in my own house and I don't even have kids. I wouldn't do it because I have dogs and cats and you never know.

[ahhell]

Once again, stupidity kills. :rolleyes:

It's ALWAYS a good idea to show off loaded guns to your friends. :s

[HSoft]

In the UK police aren't armed and don't want to be armed, with the exception of specialist firearms units. ....

It's funny however. When I was growing up in the UK you never saw a policeman with a firearm. Now you see them all over the place. Police armament in the UK has risen sharply in the last 20 or so years. Why's that?

[theyarecomingforyou]

It's funny however. When I was growing up in the UK you never saw a policeman with a firearm. Now you see them all over the place. Police armament in the UK has risen sharply in the last 20 or so years. Why's that?

Outside of airports I haven't seen armed officers in the UK.

[Gerowen]

Complacency kills. Regardless of how much experience you have, you should never leave a weapon unsecured, especially in the presence of children and other family members, because no matter how long you've handled guns, the bullets are still just as deadly.

[AJerman]

The deputy should be charged with murder. Simple as that. I'm not anti-guns at all, in fact, I'll fight for them even though I don't own one myself. It's not the gun's fault that the dumbass deputy decided to play with his guns with a 4 year old running around and leave them on his bed loaded with no safety. If people start getting life in prison every time a kid picks up a gun and shoots someone, maybe we'll get a little responsibility out of the idiots who ruin things for everyone else.

And then, in typical protect your own police nature, we get this:

"It's a sad, sad set of circumstances," Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan told WSMV-TV. "Nobody is immune to this -- nobody. It doesn't matter if you are a law enforcement officer. These things can happen in seconds."

Nobody is immune to this?! I bet the person who doesn't leave his guns loaded in the reach of a child is immune to this. You know, the person who takes the responsibility that comes with owning a gun. This is the biggest load of bull**** I've heard. This gun owner was irresponsible no matter how you try to paint the picture. If he had been responsible, it would not have happened. And the fact that he was a law enforcement officer who likely had far more training with guns than most civilian gun owners makes it that much worse.

Instead of looking to restrict guns or people's ability to own them, start addressing the real issue, those who neglect the responsibilities of gun ownership. If your gun finds it's way into the hands of anyone, child or otherwise, and it's a clear case of neglect, such as this one (as opposed to someone breaking in and stealing it from you, though even then it should be locked up), then the gun owner should get charged with the same crime as the person who actually committed it.

[Sentron]

If you are a rational and logical person will understand this statement;

Guns will be around forever.

They will be argued about forever.

The reason being? People are uneducated about it (not saying anyone is stupid, they just don't know all the factors that are taking place).

They read or see one piece of information that is biased without seeming biased they will tend to stick to that exact piece of information without looking into the other perspective, but were to find an unbiased source?

[Ghost5525]

In the UK police aren't armed and don't want to be armed, with the exception of specialist firearms units. Even if you accept that law enforcement officers should be routinely armed?which I don't?it doesn't mean that those weapons should be stored at their place of residence. Being realistic, disarming law enforcement officers in the US is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future but that doesn't mean more can't be done to prevent deaths like this - tough jail sentences for the improper storage and/or use of weapons would help prevent such incidences occurring. Weapons shouldn't be treated in such a cavalier manner.

Well we aren't talking about the UK are we we're talking about an incident that happened in America, but yet every UK member that is rabidly against guns has to chime in and damn us for something that was clearly the result of poor judgment. Had the guy unloaded them before he sat them on the bed or I dunno...maybe showed them when the kids weren't around we wouldn't even be discussing this right now.

I'm seriously doubting that anyone but you and I read this article.... the comments on here certainly reflect that at least.

The kid was not related to either the Sherrif or his wife. The kid was just a kid of one of their friends.

But yes, this was'nt "bad storage". This is a classic case of a very very bad accident. They were showing the guns to a friend, and basically they say, that as soon as they set the handgun down, with in 4 seconds, the little kid had picked it up and shot it. It was stupid of them to really have a kid in the room with all that deadly fire power.

Not to mention have them loaded and without trigger locks on them - I have all my guns locked up, stored up high, and with my ammo locked up as well...because I don't want situations like this to happen to me and one of my own kids kill themselves.

[rr_dRock]

did i lie about this 4 year old shooting his mom in the back of the head?.

Actually you did. Read the article. The child had no relation to the woman or the Sheriff

[theyarecomingforyou]

Well we aren't talking about the UK are we we're talking about an incident that happened in America, but yet every UK member that is rabidly against guns has to chime in and damn us for something that was clearly the result of poor judgment.

Why should arbitrary geopolitical boundaries determine what I should and shouldn't care about?

[Scorbing]

Deputy's wife killed when gun goes off in hands of 4-year-old

A 4-year-old Tennessee boy picked up a loaded gun and it went off, killing the wife of a sheriff's deputy at a family cookout, state police said Monday.

Josephine Fanning, 48, and her husband, Wilson County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Fanning, were entertaining family and friends at their Lebanon, Tenn., home Saturday evening, Tennessee state police spokeswoman Kristin Helm told the Los Angeles Times, when Daniel Fanning started showing his guns to a friend in his bedroom.

A 4-year-old boy at the cookout walked into the room with Josephine Fanning and picked up a loaded handgun from the bed and it went off, Helm said.

Officials think the shooting was an accident but are investigating in case prosecutors decide to file charges.

"It's a sad, sad set of circumstances," Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan told WSMV-TV. "Nobody is immune to this -- nobody. It doesn't matter if you are a law enforcement officer. These things can happen in seconds."

About 600 Americans die in accidental shootings every year, according to National Center for Injury Prevention and Control statistics, and about 31,000 Americans die of gunshot wounds each year.

source: http://www.latimes.c...,0,537977.story

You see what I mean when I tell you that guns don't go off just to go off? It takes a finger to pull that trigger. The Sheriff in this case, the Kid's parent, is an irresponsible S.O.B who should know better than to show his guns to anybody in the first place, I don't care if they are his brothers, much less at a party in which alcohol was probably being consumed and children are present. He is a dumb ass. It's people like him who fuel the anti-gun people to do what they are doing. Very, very irresponsible of him.

[Rippleman]

You see what I mean when I tell you that guns don't go off just to go off? It takes a finger to pull that trigger. The Sheriff in this case, the Kid's parent, is an irresponsible S.O.B who should know better than to show his guns to anybody in the first place, I don't care if they are his brothers, much less at a party in which alcohol was probably being consumed and children are present. He is a dumb ass. It's people like him who fuel the anti-gun people to do what they are doing. Very, very irresponsible of him.

Yes you are right, true the gun doesn't go off by itself. But may I ask you a question? If the gun wasn't there at all, would have it been possible for the kid to have accidently pulled the trigger?

[HSoft]

Outside of airports I haven't seen armed officers in the UK.

I have. Heart of London, Edinburgh etc.

[shakey]

Yes you are right, true the gun doesn't go off by itself. But may I ask you a question? If the gun wasn't there at all, would have it been possible for the kid to have accidently pulled the trigger?

He would have accidentally just used something else and killed her....

To think that guns don't make part of the problem is assinine.

The sherrif showed no signs of handling his guns properly. He should be held liable for the death. If we are going to allow people to have guns, then they must take total precaution to keep others safe from them. Any accident that could have been avoided by doing what was right, instead of "showing your **** off", should be treated within the criminal justice system and the person prosecuted for whatever actions occured.

[HSoft]

Why should arbitrary geopolitical boundaries determine what I should and shouldn't care about?

Perhaps because it doesn't affect you in any way?

[Scorbing]

Yes you are right, true the gun doesn't go off by itself. But may I ask you a question? If the gun wasn't there at all, would have it been possible for the kid to have accidently pulled the trigger?

No Ripple. It would not have. That is why I say that the parent (the Sheriff) is an irresponsible S.O.B because any gun owner with common sense knows that when there are children in the house, the guns MUST BE locked up in a safe that only the parent can have access to. Whether combination or physical lock, or both. It's one of the first things they teach you in gun training. Safety is always first.

The parent is a complete irresponsible dumb ass and if he would have kept that gun under lock and key, away from that child, his wife would be alive right now.

I have no children or wife and I keep mine locked in a safe with digital lock, that also has a physical lock on it so twice the protection.

[Scorbing]

This is what someone with kids needs to keep them away from their guns.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Perhaps because it doesn't affect you in any way?

And how does innocent people dying in Iraq affect the US? Yet it was enough to justify a military invasion. Justice is universal.

[Ghost5525]

Why should arbitrary geopolitical boundaries determine what I should and shouldn't care about?

Um i dunno, you don't live in the US, few of our domestic issues really affect you or your country...It'd be like me caring about your health care or domestic crimes happening in your city. So i ask why do you care? Or would you rather answer a question with another question?

[Noir Angel]

Perhaps because it doesn't affect you in any way?

Actually it does. American culture infests plenty of western countries, and it can have a knock on effect.

[ramonsjc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_safety

Always assume guns are loaded and treat them as such. Always clear a firearm when accepting it or passing it on. <- Basic Handling rules

No sympathy for irresponsible gun owners Law Enforcement or otherwise. If this happened to me, I wound have instantly been in prison, tried and convicted of manslaughter.

[xendrome]

If this happened to me, I wound have instantly been in prison, tried and convicted of manslaughter.

People don't get convicted of manslaughter for an accident.

[hagjohn]

NBCnews article.

Two 4-year-olds, two guns, two tragic shootings

Four-year-old boys in different states were involved in two separate shooting incidents in the last four days, with tragic results.

On Saturday, a Tennessee boy discharged a pistol at a sheriff's deputy's wife, killing her instantly. On Monday, a New Jersey boy left a 6-year-old neighbor in serious condition after a rifle fired at his head.

The Tennessee incident occurred during a family cookout at the home of Josephine and Daniel Fanning. He's a sheriff's deputy in Wilson County.

Deputy Fanning, 51, was in his bedroom showing his collection of weapons to a relative around 7:00 p.m. Saturday, when Josephine, 48, and the 4-year-old came into the room. The young boy grabbed a loaded handgun sitting on the bed and fired it once, striking and killing the deputy?s wife, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigations spokeswoman Kristin Helm. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident appears to be an accident and no one has been charged, but the investigation is still open, according to Helm.

?It?s a sad, sad set of circumstances,? Sheriff Robert Bryan told NBC affiliate WSMV in Nashville. "Nobody is immune to this. Nobody. It doesn't matter if you are a law enforcement officer. These things can happen in second."

The 4-year-old is a relative of the deputy and his late wife, WSMV reported. The weapon used by the 4-year-old boy was not Deputy Fanning?s service weapon.

Another tragic incident took place in New Jersey on Monday evening, when a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot a 6-year-old neighbor with a rifle he found in his parents? home.

Police said the two boys were playing with a .22-caliber rifle outside the 4-year-old?s home in Toms River, N.J., when around 7:00 p.m. the gun discharged and struck the 6-year-old in the head,NBCNewYork.com reported.

The 4-year-old's parents reportedly heard the shot and called 911.

According to NBCNewYork.com, the 6-year-old is in serious condition at Jersey Shore Medical Center. An investigation is ongoing.

source: http://usnews.nbcnew...-shootings?lite

[theyarecomingforyou]

Um i dunno, you don't live in the US, few of our domestic issues really affect you or your country...It'd be like me caring about your health care or domestic crimes happening in your city. So i ask why do you care? Or would you rather answer a question with another question?

If you think that people shouldn't care about things that don't immediately affect them then I suggest you read this: Why Americans Are So Ignorant (despite the title it's not an anti-American article)

[Scorbing]

People don't get convicted of manslaughter for an accident.

But see, that was NOT an accident, that was negligence.