Friends and loved ones gathered at a home on Daisy Lane in Conway on Thursday afternoon to lend support to the family of a 2-year-old boy who died on Christmas Day.Why do you think there's such a disparity in the way these cases are handled? Sometimes the responsible gun owner is arrested immediately, other times it takes a month for the arrest and still other times no one is ever held accountable.
The boy’s father, Rondell Smith, paced in circles in front of his mother-in-law’s home, tears streaming down his face, saying over and over, “My son is gone. My son is gone.”
He was inconsolable by family.
“I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. … I miss his voice. I hear him calling me. I held him close,” Smith said. “Why couldn’t it be me?”
Nearly 48 hours prior, 2-year-old Sincere Smith got hold of his father’s gun that was sitting on a table and shot himself. He died en route to Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. A senseless accident, the boy’s family said.
Smith, 30, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and released from jail Wednesday on a $500 bond. He said no punishment by the law would suffice.
“Going to jail ain’t even enough,” he said. “Whatever’s coming to me is coming to me.”
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
They should all be accountable. I'm sure that this guy believed he 1. needed that gun (apparently more than he needed his son) and 2. I'm sure he was just one more gun nut convinced he was keeping that gun secure and in his control...until he wasn't.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how much he regrets it NOW, his actions were careless and reckless, as are the actions of anyone who leaves a gun on a table when it is not genuinely in their care and control - like when they walk away for a moment, or when they fall asleep.
Their actions result in a death - they should be held accountable. Sorry Mikeb, I don't know how you figure that it is enough of a punishent that they are bereaved parents - so are the other relatives of the kid, who did not contribute to the kid being dead. It's not just the gun owners loss, it is the kid's loss of his life, and the loss to everyone else due to stupidity and guns -- which go together all the time.
The father in Mpls was arrested and charged too, btw. He had guns all over the house, unsecured - and he had a concealed carry permit. The notion that anyone with a cc is safe is bullshit.
And yet, Dog Gone, you had a carry license and a gun. Did you consider yourself safe?
DeletePoor pitiful fool. I can't say I have a lot of pity for him. He's an idiot in thinking that having a gun is going to protect him, and even more of an idiot for failing to secure the gun in a home with at least one small child. Now the child pays the price for his stupidity.
ReplyDeleteThe real question here: will anyone else learn from this loser's mistake?
Guns and kids don't mix, and every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.
I think a lot of people are rethinking their position on gun ownership and gun rights. The tide is turning in our favor.
DeleteIs Dog Gone? You and Oregonian are no surprise, since you don't have guns, anyway. I'm not rethinking anything.
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