De Leon student survives accidental shooting

[Rex B]

16-year-old, Negligent discharge

"..was cleaning a .380 semi-automatic and had the gun braced against his upper right thigh, when the accident occurred.
"I was outside when I heard the pop of the gunshot" (Mom)said. "And then I heard him say 'Mom, help me. I've shot myself'.

Luckily she had medical training and got him medical attention in time.
Bullet severed the femoral artery. Girlfriend held pressure during the drive to the hospital.
He was blacking out and turning white en route. told Mom "I'm not going to make it. I love you"

Long article, but it's not available online without a subscription, and I'm tired of typing ;)

He was careless, but lucky.

[joe817]

Not only careless but supremely foolish. He didn't make absolutely, doubly, positively sure it wasn't loaded before he started playing with it. And 16 y.o.? Methinks the parents should(or should have) required the guy to take some basic gun safety courses.

Now, can the mom be charged with negligence or some other violation of the law in this, as the kid was a minor?

[USA1]

hopefully he learned to CHECK,DOUBLE CHECK,TRIPLE CHECK!!!
i still dont understand how this happens

[joe817]

hopefully he learned to CHECK,DOUBLE CHECK,TRIPLE CHECK!!!
i still dont understand how this happens

totally.

[Purplehood]

Gangbanger?

[Rex B]

Picture looked like an all-American kid in a football jersey.



http://deleonfreepress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Purplehood]

Cleared that up.

[Oldgringo]

This was truly a negligent discharge. The operative word is "negligent".

[USA1]

Zero sympathy.

Edit: And I hope it hurts.

Edit again: A lot.

it was only a .380...it might have smarted a little.

[KRM45]

Now, can the mom be charged with negligence or some other violation of the law in this, as the kid was a minor?

Sec. 46.13. MAKING A FIREARM ACCESSIBLE TO A CHILD. (a) In this section:

(1) "Child" means a person younger than 17 years of age.

(2) "Readily dischargeable firearm" means a firearm that is loaded with ammunition, whether or not a round is in the chamber.

(3) "Secure" means to take steps that a reasonable person would take to prevent the access to a readily dischargeable firearm by a child, including but not limited to placing a firearm in a locked container or temporarily rendering the firearm inoperable by a trigger lock or other means.

(b) A person commits an offense if a child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm and the person with criminal negligence:

(1) failed to secure the firearm; or

(2) left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child would gain access.

(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the child's access to the firearm:

(1) was supervised by a person older than 18 years of age and was for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes;

(2) consisted of lawful defense by the child of people or property;

(3) was gained by entering property in violation of this code; or

(4) occurred during a time when the actor was engaged in an agricultural enterprise.

(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

(e) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor if the child discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury to himself or another person.

(f) A peace officer or other person may not arrest the actor before the seventh day after the date on which the offense is committed if:

(1) the actor is a member of the family, as defined by Section 71.003, Family Code, of the child who discharged the firearm; and

(2) the child in discharging the firearm caused the death of or serious injury to the child.

(g) A dealer of firearms shall post in a conspicuous position on the premises where the dealer conducts business a sign that contains the following warning in block letters not less than one inch in height:

"IT IS UNLAWFUL TO STORE, TRANSPORT, OR ABANDON AN UNSECURED FIREARM IN A PLACE WHERE CHILDREN ARE LIKELY TO BE AND CAN OBTAIN ACCESS TO THE FIREARM."

Seems like someone could be charged with a class A misd.

If the bullet really severed the femoral attery he is very lucky to be alive.

[KD5NRH]

Now, can the mom be charged with negligence or some other violation of the law in this, as the kid was a minor?

Maybe she was engaged in an agricultural enterprise at the time. Does transporting manure via telephone count?

The thing that's fishy to me is that it was a .380. I can't think of any target pistols in .380 off the top of my head, nor would it make much sense for animal defense or small game hunting. It's pretty much a deep concealment carry caliber and nothing else -not what you'd give your kid to wander around the farm with.

[mr.72]

The thing that's fishy to me is that it was a .380. I can't think of any target pistols in .380 off the top of my head, nor would it make much sense for animal defense or small game hunting. It's pretty much a deep concealment carry caliber and nothing else -not what you'd give your kid to wander around the farm with.

I don't know. I know several people with .380 pistols that they bought simply because of the price. Also there is a consideration among many people that this is a "small" center-fire round that is less dangerous than 9mm, or easier to handle the recoil, or whatever, so maybe it's more suitable for training kids or for use by women. Likewise, not just for "deep concealment", but many .380 pistols built on the PPK-style platform are a good fit in smaller hands compared with pistols with a larger cartridge and necessarily larger grip to contain the magazine. Further, many of these PPK-style guns are very affordable and not readily available in 9mm at all or without a big cost increase (think Bersa).

These days many of the surplus PPK-type guns such as CZ and FEG are 9x18 or .32 but I have heard that in years past .380 variants of these guns were available and inexpensive. I have considered loading up on 9x18 CZ-surplus pistols just to keep around, not because it is a great round choice but because it is effective and the pistols are available at a very attractive price.

So I kind of would think it normal that a teen-age kid would be provided with a .380 pistol, due to the (wrong) perception that it is a less-deadly round, the idea that it is easier to handle the gun for smaller or less strong people, the probable low cost of the gun to begin with, etc. If my teen-age daughter decides that she wants a gun, and rather than buy another one she took a liking to one of the ones I had here I would be inclined to give it to her, and I suspect the one she'd want happens to be a .380.

[Purplehood]

Zero sympathy.

Edit: And I hope it hurts.

Edit again: A lot.

it was only a .380...it might have smarted a little.

Except for the part about the Femoral Artery, perhaps.

[Rex B]

I'd bet it was a Llama .380