Until more is known, we may need to hold judgment on what the parent(s) had or hadn't taught the boy about guns. They were apparently visiting the home of someone else. If the boy is from a home where there are no firearms, then his being cautioned about them may have been little to none. In this case I wouldn't necessarily blame the parent(s). If they have no firearms in their home and maybe have never even been exposed to firearms themselves, they may not really thought aboutthe need to warn him other than maybe a statement of 'Never play with a gun.' And, if the boy hadn't been exposed to guns, he may not have realized it was a real gun until he picked it up. Additionally, if the incident happened as described and the gun DID go off when he dropped it, then the firearm malfunctioned.Shoot Straight wrote:If parents teach their child to swim, they don't have to rely on others to secure the pool at every house their child visits.
If parents teach their child gun safety, they don't have to rely on others to secure the guns at every house their child visits.
If parents teach their child not to drink bleach, et cetera, they don't have to rely on others to secure the household chemicals at every house their child visits.
If parents teach their child to look both ways before crossing the street...
Those seem like smart things for parents to teach their children.
So, IF this is all factual, then fault lies totally with the person who failed to secure the firearm and not the boys parent(s) IMO.