Latest news with #firearmsafety
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Arizona toddler, 2, shot himself as dad was distracted by online videos, police say
A two-year-old Arizona toddler accidentally shot himself with a gun left on a couch while his father was distracted watching online videos, Phoenix police said. The child's father, 27-year-old Oscar Guerra, has been arrested and booked on one felony count of child abuse. Police say Guerra admitted to placing the firearm on the armrest of a couch with the intention of cleaning it, but became distracted by videos on his computer. Around 10:40 p.m. on July 9, at a home near 84th Avenue and Campbell Avenue in west Phoenix, officers arrived to find Guerra holding his injured son, who had a gunshot wound to the upper left arm and a broken bone, according to court documents. The injured toddler was later taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Guerra told investigators he saw his young son walk into the living room but believed the boy had returned to his bedroom. Roughly 30 seconds later, while still focused on his computer, Guerra said he heard a gunshot and turned to find his son bleeding. The child's mother told police she was in the kitchen at the time of the shooting and heard the gunfire. Around 10:40 p.m. on July 9, at a home near 84th Avenue and Campbell Avenue in west Phoenix, officers arrived to find Guerra holding his injured son, who had a gunshot wound to the upper left arm and a broken bone. Pictured: A large police presence at the scene She also reported a previous incident in which Guerra left a gun unsecured in the home and said they had discussed the importance of keeping firearms properly stored. Officers later found the weapon under the couch. Guerra acknowledged to police that he was responsible for ensuring the gun was out of the child's reach and admitted to making a serious error. He was released from jail without bail to visit his son in the hospital. If convicted, he faces up to nearly nine years in prison. The Arizona Department of Child Safety has been notified and is conducting a separate investigation, AZCentral reported. Gun safety experts say the case stresses the critical importance of secure firearm storage, particularly in homes with children. 'They're not going to sit there and weigh the risk or benefit of handling a firearm,' Barret Kendrick, a gun safety consultant told AZFamily. 'Generally speaking, as a responsible gun owner, we need to make sure that we're preventing access to anyone who has not been trained or could not be trusted with that firearm.' The investigation is ongoing.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Yahoo
Brevard boy, 3, was accidentally shot by teen relative, sheriff's office says
A 3-year-old Brevard County boy was accidentally shot in the arm Monday by a 14-year-old relative, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. The boy is currently in stable condition and is expected to recover after being airlifted to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, a Tuesday news release from the sheriff's office said. Deputies responded to a residence in the 4000 block of Aurantia Road in Mims around 12:20 p.m. Monday after receiving a 911 call, according to the release. The boy was being cared for by relatives there. The teenager was attempting to move a firearm to a secure location when it went off, the release said. Tod Goodyear, a sheriff's office spokesperson, said Wednesday the investigation is ongoing and there is a possibility charges may be pursued, but no arrests have been made. Florida law says any person who 'knows or reasonably should know' a minor under 16 can likely access their firearms and doesn't properly secure them can be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor if the firearm comes into the possession of a minor who then uses it in a 'careless' manner. The shooting follows a June 29 incident in Lake County where a 5-year-old Eustis boy accidentally shot himself in the head with his father's gun, according to Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri. The boy was also airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical schools training providers to promote gun safety
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis in the United States in June of last year. In response to this — as well as the Tops mass shooting — the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo hosted a conference Saturday focused on reducing firearm-related deaths through public health initiatives. The 'Remembrance Conference' brought together healthcare professionals, students, educators and community members to explore the physician's role in preventing gun violence. Now in its third year, the event was co-founded by Dr. Allison Brashear, dean of UB's Jacobs School of Medicine, and Dr. Aron Sousa, dean of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine. Both leaders were motivated to act following mass shootings that deeply affected their communities — the 2022 racist attack at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, and the 2023 shooting on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing. 'The victims of gun violence and their families are a significant part of this crisis, but also it is about the people who take care of the patients and their families,' Brashear said. Speakers at the conference encouraged physicians to discuss gun safety with patients during routine medical visits, likening it to other preventive health conversations such as smoking or mental health screening. 'It turns out that talking to your physician is a really important part of public health,' Sousa said. 'We can successfully encourage people to quit smoking, and we can encourage people to store their guns safely at home.' The conference covered a wide range of topics, including suicide prevention, mental health, advocacy training and the healthcare system's broader responsibility in reducing gun-related injuries and deaths. 'You can work on laws and public policy, but you can also work on how doctors and the whole healthcare team respond, both after there's been a crisis and before,' Brashear said. Dr. Rob Gore, a Brooklyn emergency medicine physician, UB graduate, and author of 'Treating Violence: An Emergency Room Doctor Takes on a Deadly American Epidemic,' said physicians must be more than just responders. 'Part of the work in practicing medicine is not just treating a patient's physical injuries,' Gore said. 'It's about preventing them from becoming patients in the first place.' Organizers stressed that while mass shootings draw the most attention, they account for only about 1% of gun-related incidents in the U.S. The majority involve domestic violence, suicides, accidental discharges, and improperly secured firearms. Brashear noted that gun violence is now the leading cause of death among teens and young children in the country, reinforcing the need for a healthcare-led approach to prevention. Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Macomb County woman charged with firearm violation after teen allegedly brings gun to school
The Brief Multiple students were charged for allegedly bringing a loaded gun to Center Line High School to show off. Prosecutor Pete Lucido told FOX 2 that the student said he took it from his grandmother's house. She has since been charged with a safe storage of a firearm violation. MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Three students from Center Line High School were charged and accused of bringing a loaded handgun to campus and taking photos with it on May 13. What they're saying Prosecutor Pete Lucido told FOX 2 that the student said he took it from his grandmother's house. Investigators say the gun was not safely secured. "As a result, grandma has a duty under state law that we have to put our weapons away knowing that we're having either invited guests coming over to the house, such as our own grandchildren," he said. 52-year-old Lisa Renee Christy of Clinton Township was charged with a safe storage of a firearm violation. The misdemeanor came with a $100,000 personal bond. "You don't even have to have knowledge that the kid is doing it, just the kid having access to the firearm is enough to violate that law. Another provision about that law is she was only charged with a misdemeanor," said Action Impact Firearms Director Bill Kucyk. "Had anybody been injured, that jumps up to a felony. It's so fixable with the quick access safes, even with the gun locks they're giving out for free with every new gun. It's so easy to keep yourself out of this position." What you can do You can get gun locks for free at many police stations throughout the state and at free community events. Kucyk pointed out that some gun owners may steer away from the cheap cable locks because they can take a while to remove. There are some safes that keep your weapon secured but are a little pricier. "Not only is it legally required, I think ethically, and morally you don't want your gun used to injure anybody else. I certainly don't, I don't want my gun stolen out of my car or my home," he said. A responsible choice can keep your community safer. The Source FOX 2 spoke to Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido and Action Impact Firearms director Bill Kucyk for information in this report.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mandatory school gun safety training course clears House panel
Four-term state Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, who is a retired police officer, said a mandatory one-hour annual firearms safety training course for all K-12 public school students would help the state respond to dangerous permissive videos youths see about guns on social media. 'Go on TikTok or YouTube and the gun glorification culture our young people are being exposed to is awful,' said Roy, who chairs the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. 'What is the countermeasure to that? We need to meet children where they are and that's at school.' Critics maintain some studies have concluded the courses from the National Rifle Association and other advocacy groups don't make children any more prepared to deal with guns in a real-life scenario, such as a school shooting. 'Let's call this bill what it is; an attempted jobs bill for gun lobbyists and firearm dealers,' said Zandra Rice Hawkins, a leader in Common Sense New Hampshire, a left-of-center group that supports gun-control legislation. Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, said it's the height of hypocrisy for a leader in the Republican-led Legislature to champion a gun-safety course for children when lawmakers have rejected countless proposals for adults, such as firearm waiting periods, closing background check loopholes and 'red flag' laws that allow a judge to seize the weapons of someone judged as a danger to himself or others. 'The content of this program I find personally offensive. This Legislature has refused to take any action on firearm protection. We have done nothing to increase safety in this state when it comes to firearm violence,' Altschiller said. 'Normalizing firearms in kindergarten inside the school when we do nothing to promote safety outside the school is inappropriate and outrageous.' Roy's committee voted 9-6 to attach the amendment to a popular Senate-passed bill that would raise the penalty for those accused of drunk or drugged driving who refuse to take a blood alcohol content (BAC) test along the roadside (SB 54). Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn has said this is the most important in a package of bills his team is promoting to deal with a rise in those engaging in hyper-speed, distracted and impaired driving on state highways. Roy also tweaked the refusal to consent bill to enhance an incentive for motorists who agree to take the BAC test after they're pulled over. His changes would allow someone who gets drug counseling to ask a judge to reduce the license suspension period by nine months. Drivers who have BAC analyzed under Roy's plan could also seek a 'Cinderella' license while under suspension. This would permit them to drive from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as long as they agree to install an ignition interlock device that won't allow the car to start if the driver is impaired. 'These alterations would add more of a carrot while still retaining the stick of longer suspension and loss of license for those who refuse to consent,' Roy said. On the firearm training course, leaders of the pro-gun control Moms Demand Action turned out to oppose Roy's idea. One of them was Gabrielle Rothstein, a student at the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill who dealt with shooting threats at Portsmouth High School. 'I have lived through the fear which this bill ignores,' Rothstein said. 'The root of gun violence in schools isn't a lack of knowledge; it is the choice to provide harm.' The bill makes a reference to Eddie Eagle GunSafe, the NRA course started in 1998 that has been taught to 30 million children. 'This is the number one priority of the NRA this legislative session,' said Justin Davis, state director of the NRA. 'It is critical for gun safety for the state of New Hampshire.' Roy said it's only an example and the bill expressly directs the state departments of Education and Safety to come up with a curriculum by next Jan. 1 to be introduced in the 2026-27 school year. State educators must provide materials for the courses at no cost to the local school districts. The proposal requires all study be 'age appropriate.' Live firearms and ammunition are not permitted on school grounds for the courses, but they would permit 'dummy firearms' or 'multimedia resources.' All schools must offer the course, but any parent could opt out of having their child be involved. Rep. Heather Raymond, D-Nashua, dealt with this controversy as an eight-year member of the Nashua Board of Education when the junior ROTC program wanted to start an air rifle competition team. The board held three public hearings, took more than 10 hours of testimony and came up with an off-site program that was opt-in, meaning a parent had to volunteer to have their child take part or they could not. 'Since this started in 2019, we have not heard another word about it,' Raymond said. 'Nothing prohibits any school district to offer a gun safety course, I get an email from NRA every month offering this training. I would really encourage you making this an opt-in program given the sensitivity about this topic.' What's Next: The bill comes to the full House and is likely to pass given support for gun rights among its rank-and-file members. Prospects: Roy has tacked this onto a bill Senate GOP leaders consider a must pass and it will be up to them to decide whether to accept this marriage or seek a conference committee to try and settle their differences. klandrigan@
