Is Game Industry To Blame For Tennessee Child’s Death? Society? Guns? Or Parents?
NORENE, Tenn. — A mix-up between a Wii game and a .380 caliber pistol led a 3-year-old to shoot herself in the abdomen and end her life.
Mom was on the computer. Dad had gotten out his gun to scare off dogs and set it down before putting it back into its lock case. And Cheyenne McKeehan didn’t understand the difference between a real gun and a her games.
Surely the first question to come to mind is ‘how could even a pre-schooler confuse a game gun for a real handgun’? Maybe you are bit behind the times when it comes to modern video game accessories. Saying they have become ‘realistic’ is an understatement.
Wii console gun:
A close representation of the .380 caliber pistol in question:
As a full grown adult, even I would have to take a second and third look at those guns.
Now before you start saying there is no way a three year old could have held a real gun and properly pulled the trigger, take yet another look at the .380 caliber pistol:
This is the epitome of the ‘pocket pistol’. Smaller by a long shot than the toy Wii console gun.
Now a Wii console gun again:
Which one do you think looked more like a ‘little girl sized toy’ to three year old Cheyenne?
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Read local news story in The Tennessean
Parents are to blame whether they pay repercussions or not. It’s up to the parents to keep the children safe and teach them what can hurt them and what is only a toy, although I don’t like toy guns. They look too real. And why didn’t the dad put the handgun back where he had gotten it so the little girl couldn’t get it?
Parents are to blame. Why are earth was the gun left out and why was it left loaded? The death of common sense.
Parents Parents Parents!
Typically the parents are to blame, but, did you know that more children die from drowning in backyard pools each year than from home gun ‘accidents’? Strange that.
I’d like to hope more children have access to pools than guns.
But at the same time… what kind of parent leaves a young child completely unattended in a swimming pool??
Parents. A gun is an inanimate object… if there was a tragedy, then it was left where it was accessible by a child who didn’t know better, in a state where it was useable. You either make it unusable, inaccessible, or get the child to know better. Ayoob wrote a book, “Gunproof your children”..
The initial story had the step-father getting the gun out “because he thought he heard a prowler” and did not mention scaring off dogs. It also had him leaving the gun out and going to sleep. The fault here lies solely with the parents; it has nothing to do with Nintendo or other game controllers than look like guns. The firearm in question is a… See More semi-automatic. There would have had to be a round in the chamber for her to be able to fire it. The step-father could have removed the clip, cleared the round from the chamber and even replaced the clip, and the gun wouldn’t have fired by just pulling the trigger. If you have children and guns in the house LOCK UP THE GUNS at all times. The step-father should be charged with involuntary manslaughter and the mother with negligence leading to the death of a child.
Yeah. I read different stories on why he had the gun out. Two said to scare off dogs and another said he heard a prowler. Hard to say now which was actuality.
I knew a couple (indirectly) who lost a child when one of their sons accidentally shot the other. I think they were 5 and 8 or so at the time. I can’t imagine what that remaining child is going to have to live with the rest of their life. Not to mention the parents.
I just chose not to have guns in my house. Kids are likely to get into enough messes on their own in my experience. I didn’t want mine to have one more big mistake to potentially make. I’ve just read this same story in different variations too many times…. See More
Yes. Parents should lock them up. But accidents happen. People are forgetful. Kids find keys. So on and so on.
True about kids finding keys, but the harder you make it for them, the less likely they are to keep at it. Attention spans are short. As for pools, you never leave children alone in any kind of water, period. I keep tabs on my nephews when they are in the bathtub!! I had a cousin who drowned in one, and I just worry. Swimming pools should be empty, or locked up so young children can’t get to them. And teach them how to swim!!
Something is wrong with a person getting out a deadly weapon to “scare off dogs”. Seems like there’s more to this story…