Skip to main content

What Can We Learn: 3-Year-Old Boy Shoots Himself After Finding Gun

Gun in car_croppedAccording to ABC News, a 3-year-old boy shot and killed himself with a gun that his mother's boyfriend left under the seat in their vehicle as the family stopped for gas at the Tacoma, Wash., station off Interstate 5 at about 12:30 a.m.

The man exited the vehicle to pump gas and the child's mother went inside the station, leaving the boy and the man's daughter inside the vehicle.

The boy managed to climb out of his child restraint seat and retrieve the firearm, with which he accidentally shot himself.  The girl was uninjured.

According to Tacoma Police Officer Naveed Benjamin, investigators who questioned the boy's mother and her boyfriend are calling the shooting a tragic accident.

Unfortunately, this is the third recent shooting of a child in Western Washington.

"You can't predict what children are going to do. You need to unload and lock it up if you're not carrying it. And keep it out of the hands of children. It's really not that hard to practice firearm safety," said Benjamin.

What can we learn from this tragic accidental shooting? The obvious "catch-22" with owning a gun is that the more securely it's stored, the less accessible it is and vice-versa. In my opinion, responsible gun ownership is about striking a balance between security and accessibility.

To one extreme are gun owners whose unloaded guns are locked away so securely that they would be virtually useless to their owner during a home invasion, which of course is why the owner purchased the guns to begin with.

At the other end of the spectrum are gun owners who leave their loaded guns on kitchen counters with young children in the house. This type of gun owner has usually taught his or her children about the dangers of guns and is confident his children will not handle the gun. The problem here is that even if his or her children don't find the allure of Daddy's or Mommy's gun irresistible, other children who visit the home might not be so disciplined.

Obviously, wearing your gun is the best way to ensure that it's with you when you need it yet is inaccessible to others. But most people I know don't wear a gun at all times while inside their home. I've found biometric safes, which require authorized fingerprint identification to unlock, to be a good way to keep your gun loaded and ready yet safe from children and irresponsible adults.

Some states have criminal statutes for unsafe storage of a firearm. However, even facing criminal charges would probably seem minor compared to the burden of knowing a child was injured or killed with your gun.

What are your thoughts?

Recommended


photo of Richard Nance

Richard Nance

Richard Nance is the founder of Nance Training & Consulting. He is lifelong martial artist and retired police sergeant with 26 years of service. His assignments included patrol supervisor, firearms instructor, SWAT team leader, and defensive tactics program supervisor. In addition to providing firearms and combatives courses, Richard is the Gun Tech Editor of Guns&Ammo magazine and the Self-Defense Editor of Handguns Magazine. He co-hosts Handguns TV and hosts Guns&Ammo's new Personal Defense digital video series. Richard is also a regular contributor to Outdoor Sportsman Group's Special Interest Publications (SIP) division.

Full Bio +  |   See more articles from Richard Nance




Current Magazine Cover

Enjoy articles like this?

Subscribe to the magazine.

Get access to everything Guns & Ammo has to offer.
Subscribe to the Magazine

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
How-To

Landlocked & Loaded

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Videos - News - Military & Law Enforcement

Fox News Contributor Joey Jones On Guns

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Historial

DAVID WESTERHOUT – OLYMPIAN

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Reviews

First Look: Springfield Armory Kuna

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Industry

June '25 Issue of Guns & Ammo Magazine

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Videos - News - 2nd Amendment

Colorado's Semiauto Ban

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Handguns

Kimber's Race Gun

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Handguns

Double-Stack Compact

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Handguns

May '25 Issue of Guns & Ammo Magazine

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Optics

Pulsar Thermal Technology - James Sellers, CEO of Sellmark Corp.

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Rifles

Building The Legend: Gunmaker D'Arcy Echols

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Suppressors

SILENCER CENTRAL - BANISH 9K

Guns and Ammo Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Guns & Ammo App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Guns & Ammo stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Guns and Ammo subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Guns & Ammo stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use