Louisiana 5-Year-Old Girl Kills Herself While Playing With Daddy’s Handgun, Sparks Gun Safety Debate
Tragedy struck a Louisiana home when a 5-year-old girl shot herself while playing with her father’s handgun, according to St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s office.
Haley Moore, who lived with her father and two siblings at their LaPlace home, was reportedly playing with her father’s gun Saturday morning when she accidentally shot herself with it. The young Louisiana girl was carried to a nearby hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
The unexpected tragedy in the quiet Louisiana suburb has sparked a raging debate around gun control on social media, and while most commenters appeared to pin the blame on the father for not storing the gun in a secure location, the man’s history suggests that he was cautious with the guns in his house.
Joy Ursin, one of the father’s neighbors, said Haley’s death was shocking because her father was a disabled military veteran and always kept guns away from the children, except on this one occasion, according to The Times-Picayune.
“All I can say is it’s an unfortunate thing because Eric is a disabled military veteran and one thing is he has his guns, but he’s not ignorant to the fact of the danger, especially when his kids are around.
“He would always stress how he had to secure (them), what he had to go through when the kids came. He made sure of that because he would get his kids every other weekend.”
The father had reportedly planned a day out with his children and had therefore gone to take an early shower, and Joy Ursin reckons he might have forgotten about securing the handgun in the excitement of planning the weekend with his children. Haley’s parents separated some time back, and it was his weekend to have the children.
“They had a full schedule planned,” Ursin said. “He was gonna take them to see Angry Birds and they were all excited about that. And then this tragedy.”
“His kids are his life, so this to him is devastating. He would always bring them over every other Saturday when he would get them and I would have treats for them.”
The unfortunate event sparked a heated debate on gun safety and control, and while some people sympathized with the father for having forgotten to secure the gun, others said that the responsibility of the 5-year-old’s death rests with the father.
“Stop the disabled veteran aspect. I am a veteran (currently temp disabled) and it is high time to stop giving passes to someone just because they say are a vet. He should have known to secure his weapons given his military background. May this lovely child rest in peace,” read one comment.
“A five-year-old is not going to look for a gun. The father failed his responsibility to secure the gun, and should be arrested and charged. The right to bear arms…not a life,” another person wrote.
But then there were others who said that a deeper introspection is required on the issue of gun control to stop such instances from occurring time and again.
“Guns and children don’t mix. Kids can get into things faster than you can ever imagine. If you have kids… get rid of your guns. Guns are the bane of our existence and cause nothing but carnage & heartache,” one person suggested.
This is the not the first time in recent months that a kid has killed himself with a parent’s gun. In April, the Inquisitr reported about a 2-year-old boy accidentally shooting and killing himself with his mom’s handgun while she had “momentarily stepped away.”
Do you think guns are to blame for the death of the 5-year-old Louisiana girl, or do you think it is the responsibility of the parents to keep the guns away from the children? Have your say in the comments section below.
[Image via AdamHill/Wikipedia]
