Saturday, August 25, 2012

7 Year Old Shoots Garbage Man - I Think That Maybe There Is Much More To This Story

So, the report says that a 7 year old has shot, and wounded, a local garbage man inside of a home, they did not specify to whom the home belonged. They did say the gun belonged to the trash man. They quote the local mayor as saying: "He is loved by everyone in town," - referring to, Mr. Delucia, the shot sanitation worker. The guy is in stable condition. They expect no charges to be filed.

I think there is a possibility that charges should and may well yet be filed. Why do I think so?

First of all, one has to wonder why the reporting on this incident is so scanty when coming out of the state of CT - a state well known for its anti-gun sentiments. You would think the press would be all over such a shooting but maybe the police have withheld information due to an ongoing investigation. Second, I have to wonder, even surmise, that this likely took place inside of Mr. Delucia's home. I say that because the gun has been reported as being legally registered to Mr. Delucia. I kind of doubt it likely would have been available to the 7 year old boy, who shot him with it, in another home. That is unless Mr. Delucia were in another home and Mr. Delucia made the pistol available to the child which seems less than likely. Then again, it seems he must have somehow allowed the child access to it whether intentionally or not. That begs the question of charges of child endangerment and it suggests to me that the gun was possibly left unattended and forgotten where the child found it somewhere in Mr. Delucia's home. Again, just guesswork.

Of course, there is also the question of why was the 7 year old child, who apparently was not his child (the boy was reported to be his neighbor) in a home with Mr. Delucia in the first place? Was the child there along with one or both of his parents or with a guardian or was the child there with Mr. Delucia alone or with other children and Mr. Delucia? Was it Mr. Delucia's home, the child's home a neighbors home. As I said above, I would guess it to have been Mr. Delucia's home.

Finally, I wonder, was it actually an accidental shooting (yes one due to negligence) or was it a purposeful shooting? Could the boy have been defending himself?

The article is just so meager as to the amount of fact upon which it has reported that it leaves me to beg answers to these questions, if not directly, then simply by more full reporting of what took place and how and why it happened.

Hopefully there is nothing nefarious involved here. Sadly, at the least, it seems this shooting possibly was due to a failure of the owner to secure his pistol from children. Folks, as gun owners, gun safety is our responsibility. Try to bear in mind that the life you save may be your own.

All the best,
Glenn B

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