Accidental Shooting Death of 12-Year-old Results in No Charges

The Fay Observer reports

Bladen County District Attorney Jon David said in a news release Wednesday afternoon that the death of James Ethan Bartley was "a tragic event" for which no one could be held criminally responsible.

Ethan was shot in the side about 1:30 p.m. Nov. 25 while he and two 12-year-olds were squirrel hunting with a rifle they found. The gun "inadvertently discharged" when a boy standing next to Ethan was holding it as they stood side by side, David wrote in the release.

David said the case did not meet the criteria to prosecute the gun's owner for failing to secure the weapon.

"For a person to be prosecuted for an offense, all elements of a criminal charge must be satisfied," David wrote. "Accidents are not generally punished as crimes, even severe accidents that lead to tragic outcomes."

According to David's report, Ethan had left his relatives' home on Soup Haire Road on Nov. 25 to play with the 12-year-olds next door. The adults in the home left the children, who were playing video games, in the care of an 18-year-old to go shopping.

Some time later, Ethan and the 12-year-olds found the unloaded rifle under a blanket in a storage building behind the home. They also found some ammunition and went into nearby woods to hunt squirrels.

David said no charges were brought because the gun was stored outside the home, unloaded and under a blanket; that the adults did not know the children had found it; and that there was no sign children had previously looked for it.

This is a disgusting travesty of justice. What kind of flimsy justification is that, the gun was outside under a blanket? Is that supposed to make it secure? Is that supposed to eliminate the need for parental supervision?

Do you think it's safe to assume that the boys who went squirrel hunting by themselves had received safety instructions about proper gun handling?  Sure they had, probably their entire lives.  Then, since the adults had fulfilled their responsibility they were free to go shopping and let the boys go play by themselves.

In spite of whatever safety instructions those boys may have received, Rules were broken and one of them ended up dead, and most importantly, no adult has been held accountable.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.