Officials: Boy, 7, shot to death at Pa. gun store

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http://centurylink.net/news/read.ph...ass&action=1&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_NKNWU00L1_UNEWS

.............The boy was shot Saturday morning at Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township, 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. Store owner Leonard Mohney says he was shot in the parking lot. KDKA-TV reports that when the gun went off, the boy was in a booster seat in a car while his father was backing out of a parking space.

It's not clear how the gun went off.............


Short article....will try to find more info.....
 
http://centurylink.net/news/read.ph...ass&action=1&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_NKNWU00L1_UNEWS

.............The boy was shot Saturday morning at Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township, 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. Store owner Leonard Mohney says he was shot in the parking lot. KDKA-TV reports that when the gun went off, the boy was in a booster seat in a car while his father was backing out of a parking space.

It's not clear how the gun went off.............


Short article....will try to find more info.....

Oh my!! I wonder where the shot came from? Was the gun with the father and accidentally went off? Was the gun in the store and it accidentally went off? Do they normally have loaded guns in gun shops? Or was someone outside the gun store and shot into the car? Poor baby!
 
New article, all the others are same as the first post:

http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/12/08/2305011/officials-boy-7-shot-to-death.html

MERCER, Pa. —

A man's handgun went off while he was holding it as he got into his truck in the parking lot of a western Pennsylvania gun store Saturday and the shot killed his 7-year-old son, authorities said.

Joseph V. Loughrey, 44, was getting into the truck when the 9 mm handgun discharged, wounding Craig Allen Loughrey in the chest, according to state police................

Investigators said Loughrey told them he didn't realize there was a bullet still in the chamber.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/12/08/2305011/officials-boy-7-shot-to-death.html#storylink=cpy

First of all a simple check on the bullets is one of the main rules of gun ownership...2nd I still can't picture how this happened, don't they put your purchase in a box and why would he be holding it with his finger on the trigger?

It said he was distraught as I'm sure and feel sorry for him, but this didn't have to happen...sure he will never get over it....so sad but preventable...can you imagine how the mother feels....it's holiday time and people are excited but please be careful around any kind of weapons.....IMO
 
A man's handgun went off while he was holding it as he got into his truck in the parking lot of a western Pennsylvania gun store Saturday and the shot killed his 7-year-old son, authorities said.

Guns don't go off as you "hold them"; handguns have had safeties for decades and modern ones have multiple safeties.

The only way it is "going off" is if dad was playing with the gun and putting his finger where it didn't belong.

#1 rule of gun safety is to treat the gun as though it is loaded.
 
There should be zero tolerance when a child is killed by a handgun. No such thing as an "accident". Children should never be in proximity with guns. Prosecute, prosecute, prosecute. It's the only thing that could possibly deter these imbeciles from endangering children's lives, all for a false sense of security and ignorance. Hope he feels really "safe" and tough playing around with guns now. :furious::furious::furious:
 
Why is he holding his gun as he getting into a truck to begin with?
 
OK, now NBC news has a DIFFERENT story but still the father's responsibility AFAIC, altho LE still is investigating it as an accident:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...father-outside-gun-store-in-pennsylvania?lite

Joseph Loughrey, the father, had gone in to Twig’s Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township some time before 11 a.m. to try to sell a 9 mm Taurus handgun and a scope rifle, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Store managers weren't interested..............

As he got into the truck, he reached to place the handgun into a glove box storage unit, police told the Tribune-Review. That's when it fired............
 
Per my DH, this man would not (or should not) have been able to have a loaded gun in the store...even if it IS a gun store. He said he would have had to reload it after walking back outside. (We live in PA and hubby is a gun enthusiast). Senseless and tragic... poor little guy. :(
 
Per my DH, this man would not (or should not) have been able to have a loaded gun in the store...even if it IS a gun store. He said he would have had to reload it after walking back outside. (We live in PA and hubby is a gun enthusiast). Senseless and tragic... poor little guy. :(

It sounds like he forgot to unload it before trying to sell it. The gun store may not have even been interested in buying it (Taurus pistols don't have a great reputation) so they never cleared the chamber.

Gun stores ESPECIALLY do not want loaded guns in their stores for just this reason.

And why was this guy aiming even a gun he thought was unloaded in the direction of his child?
 
I am sorry for a father losing a child, but NO EXCUSES!

Every gun should be handled as if it is loaded. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to comprehend simple gun protocol. My son aced the GA Hunter's Safety course when he was seven years old..... Accidents happen, but a gun firing unexpectedly is not an accident. It is carelessness, oversight & stupidity. Damn!
 
OK, now NBC news has a DIFFERENT story but still the father's responsibility AFAIC, altho LE still is investigating it as an accident:

The gun is still way too close in proximity to the child though and should not have been loaded!

:furious:
 
IMO No 7 yr old should be included on a trip to sell guns.The father still killed his own son and he should be charged IMO.
 
Another article, another version, but this one does mention the possibility of charges:

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?rip_id=<DA31U9HO0@news.ap.org>&ps=1011

............Loughrey put the boy in the passenger seat and loaded the rifle into the truck, state police said. He was attempting to get inside and reached to put the handgun in the center storage console when it fired, they said.

............ The shooting is being investigated as an accident, although Loughrey could face charges, including manslaughter and negligence, Hermick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.............
 
You always assume there is a bullet in the chamber. You treat it like it's loaded.

Careless, careless, careless.......my God what a nightmare.
 
you check to see if there are bullets in the gun, recheck, and recheck again. and then never point it at another person, never put your finger on the trigger, and when not in use should be in a holster to prevent anything from accidentally touching that trigger. too many variables here that went wrong. i can't imagine the absolute horror of shooting your own son so my heart bleeds for this man but my heart bleeds more for this child. i know many people carry loaded weapons, and rightfully so as an unloaded fun is useless. and i know many people carry a round in the chamber, rightfully so as in a self defense situation in a where you are being attacked you may not be able to rack the gun and again it is useless. and i know many people don't use safeties for the purpose of again having a useless weapon if in the stressful situation they forget to undo the safety or don't have time to undo the safety. but this gun still should have been pointed at the ground away from any persons. nothing should have been on the trigger. and it should have been in a holster. so there are 3 safety guards right there other than the controversial ones that would have prevented this from happening.
 
IMO No 7 yr old should be included on a trip to sell guns.The father still killed his own son and he should be charged IMO.

I see it differently; a child of 7 can learn valuable lessons from seeing a parent demonstrating proper handing of firearms. That is not saying a child should ever have access to guns!

This little guy's death is even more heart-breaking because I betcha the dad was trying to sell the gun so he would have extra cash to buy Christmas presents for the boy.
I cannot get that out of my head.... The Gift of the Magi.
 
Guns do not magically fire themselves. Firearms do not magically kill people, if you need to kill someone with a firearm it generally takes a bit of effort. If he was placing the firearm in the center console why did it fire? And why was the gun aimed towards the backseat?

Guns placed in consoles face forward as the driver wants to be able to grab the weapon quickly. Who places a gun backwards in a center console??? My hinky meter is going off. Was the father left handed? Would left handed people put the gun in the console facing towards the backseat?
 

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