Accidental Shooting of Alabama Boy by Himself - No Charges

Local Fox News reports

Mobile Police Department Cpl. Chris Levy said a 12-year-old was injured by an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg. 

Authorities said the .357 magnum handgun belonged to the child's father. No charges have been filed.

Levy said the 12-year-old found the gun on the top shelf of a closet and was inspecting it when the gun discharged.

This is the area's third shooting incident in the past two weeks, including one on Gravine Island that has left 17-year-old Summer Moody in critical condition after she was shot in the head on April 15.

On April 19, police said 17-year-old Christopher Smith shot his step-siblings in Fairhope while handling a high-powered rifle. In that incident , 5-year-old Teela Murphy was shot in the head and killed and a 3-year-old boy was wounded.

The thing about these "accidental shootings" is not whether they are numerous enough to worry about, but the fact that they are totally preventable.

The pro-gun crowd keeps pointing out that compared to the total number of guns, these incidents are relatively few. I say, "so what?" What does that have to do with the fact that with some changes in the law, particularly about holding the gun owners responsible, many of these tragic incidents could be eliminated.

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