USA, 5-year-old child kills little sister
with the gun he was given as a present

BURKESVILLE – A 5-year-old American child killed his 2-year-old sister with a 22-caliber rifle designed specifically for children, which he had been given as a present last year and with which he used to shoot regularly. The mother of the children was on the porch when she heard the shot and rushed into the house. A drama that took place in a house in Burkesville, Kentucky.

The coroner Gary White, interviewed by the local newspaper The Lexington Herald-Leader, confirmed that it was an accident. The police said that the child, identified by the coroner as Caroline Starks, was transported to the hospital where she was later declared dead.

At the time of the tragedy the mother of the children was on the veranda of the house. “She said that it has not been more than 3 minutes, then she heard the shot and ran into the house and found her daughter”, is the report of the facts provided by the woman to the medical examiner.

The gun the child killed the little sister with is a long shotgun 22 caliber Crickett designed specifically for children. A gift received last year and kept in a corner of a room. “The parents didn’t know there was still ammunition inside,” the coroner said, always quoting the words of the mother of the children.

The medical examiner added that the boy had received the gun last year and that he often played with it. Usually the weapon was kept in a corner and the family didn’t realize it still had a bullet inside. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

The company that produces the shotgun that shot the baby to death is the Keystone Sporting Arms, located in Milton, Pennsylvania. It produces about 60,000 weapons of this type intended for children, but also numerous models for adults. The slogan to advertise these dangerous toys is “My first gun” and the company website has a section called “The Child’s Corner”, with numerous photos of kids intent on hitting targets of various kinds. “The objective of the Keystone Sporting Arms is to teach the safety of the use of weapons to young people and to encourage them to have respect for hunting activities and all those concerning the use of weapons”, the company said.

(01 May 2013)