GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, OR DO THEY?

[HairOfTheDog]

I've stopped posting these stories of toddlers being accidentally shot to death -- sometimes it's just too damned depressing. Other times, it makes me really mad that something so avoidable continues to happen hundreds of times a year -- today is one of those days. So, here are the latest unforgivable incidents.

Yesterday in Ohio:

A man fatally shot his 2-year-old son in the head when he fired into the window of a home during a dispute with the child's mother, Cleveland police said.



Police said the boy, identified as Derrice Alexander (RIP) ^, was standing on a landing when he was struck early Tuesday.

The toddler was rushed to Lutheran Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The little boy's mother was apparently unhurt. The couple also has a 1-year-old child who was not home at the time, WOIO reported.

Police said the father threw the gun into a nearby garbage can and then fled in a car. He was taken into custody later but not immediately charged.

Police Chief Calvin Williams said the man is a convicted felon and should not have had a weapon. He declined to give details about that criminal record but WOIO said the man had faced assault and domestic violence charges in the past.

This asshole needs to be convicted of an aggravated charge and locked away for life, IMO.
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Week before last in Arizona:

An 18-month-old Arizona boy was killed on Tuesday after his 3-year-old brother accidentally shot him with a gun they found while visiting a family friend.

Authorities said the shooting happened around noon while the two children and their mother were visiting the friend, an unidentified 78-year-old man. The children, their mother and the man all lived in the same apartment complex in Payson, about 90 miles away from Phoenix.

The older boy shot his younger sibling with a semi-automatic handgun he found in the apartment after they “slipped into another room unobserved by the mother.”

The childrens’ mother reportedly entered the room as the gun went off, hitting the younger boy in the head. The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Reportedly (but not confirmed by police), there were several unsecured loaded weapons in the man's house. Too bad the mother didn't check the environment before letting her little ones run around unsupervised. Neglect? IDK -- so far no charges have been filed.