5-year-old brings loaded gun to Palatka pre-kindergarten class

[nadinbrzezinski]

Source: Jacksonville.com

A 5-year-old Palatka boy brought a loaded semiautomatic handgun to school Tuesday, prompting a police investigation into where it came from.

Assistant Palatka Police Chief James Griffith said officers were called to Moseley Elementary School after a teacher saw the gun fall from the youngster’s pocket during a pre-kindergarten music lesson Tuesday morning. The teacher retrieved the weapon and notified school administrators, who called police.

The .22-caliber Jimenez semiautomatic handgun was loaded with live ammunition in the magazine but no rounds in the chamber, Griffith said.
The child told police he found the weapon in a vehicle belonging to his stepfather, but investigators hadn’t confirmed that Tuesday night. Griffith promised there will be criminal charges if any adult is found negligent in the case.

Read more: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-01-25/story/5-year-old-brings-loaded-gun-palatka-pre-kindergarten-class

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All I can do at this one IS CRINGE...

A 22 in a kindergarden school...

[fascisthunter]

1. if it weren't a gun, it would have been something else

like crayons. :sarcasm:

More guns, more of this... the problem isn't the gun itself, it's guns in the hands of so many americans.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Guns don't kill, in this case, kids do

:sarcasm:

[ZombieHorde]

3. Interesting point. I imagine one could argue the parents would have been the killers,

if anyone was killed. I thought of other dangerous objects the child could have brought to school for comparison, rat poison, gasoline, knife, but only explosives would be as dangerous as firearm. A pistol in the hands of a 5 year old at school is scary.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Why you can bet on charges for adults

:-)

And I don't know, chemistry labs can be really scary places for HAZMAT teams.

:hi:

Yes, been there done that... kids were not paying attention, ok teens, to teach... mixed wrong stuff in high enough quantities... it was... FUN!

Of course I went... why the heck didn't I ever had that kind of "fun" when I was in Junior High?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. what do they mean "if any adult is found negligent in the case."...someone WAS negligent!

[melm00se]

23. a small little thing

called "innocent until proven guilty"

If a parent does everything they are supposed to do:

gun lock
gun properly secured
ammo stored separately

and 15 year old junior takes a crow bar to the gun cabinet, breaks it open; then proceeds to cut/defeat the gun lock and finally locates the ammunition and breaks it out of it's securely fastened storage..are the parents negligent?

everyone has the right to present a defense before a jury who ultimately decides if anyone was, in fact, negligent.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

24. we;re talking about a 5 year old not a teenager....someone WAS negligent

[melm00se]

26. allegedly negligent

they aren't legally negligent until adjudicated so.

(something that will or should be proven)

folks like this should be charged and if found guilty punished to the fullest extent of the law.

[Dappleganger]

6. Well at least he left his momma's meth baggie at home.

Palatka is meth-town.

[Sancho]

7. I live in St. Pete near the recent shooting of two officers...

so I'll repeat my reply to a post on that thread and I'll include young children in the pool of people who get guns because we don't regulate guns:

"It is just insane. Sorry to rant, but criminals and emotionally ill people and impulsive people and thoughtless teens get guns because there is no effective control of guns!

Many years ago, I was in the NRA and I grew up on military bases in a family that hunted. I was opposed to "regulations". I am older and wiser now.

Guns should be registered and regulated. No one should have a gun without training, a background check, and a license. That permission should be renewed annually. If any gun is not in the possession of a licensed person and registered, it should be confiscated immediately.

Bullets and guns should only be purchased with a waiting period. Semi-automatic guns and non-sporting guns should be essentially banned without special permits.

Over time and with strong controls, the hunters will own and use guns for sport and practice, but the senseless deaths will be reduced - not eliminated - but there will be fewer deaths.

That is the only way to see this get better...flame all you want...it's the only way it will get better."

[safeinOhio]

9. Good idea, but the gun purist

can't afford five bucks it might cost to register their $1,000.00 hand gun and the $40.00 box of ammo.

:sarcasm:

[SlipperySlope]

17. Wrong economic class...

The gun in this story probably cost around $100 new, and the cartridges probably run about $0.05 each.

[petronius]

18. If gun registration was actually going to cost $5 I think I'd be for it, just for the sheer

pleasure of paying a mere 5 bucks for any state fee these days... :)

[aikoaiko]

29. Of course nothing you propose would have much prevented the incident in the OP from happenning

:shrug:

[TheEuclideanOne]

8. Makes me wonder how this game would change if all 5 year olds were packin

http://www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com/

[GOPNotForMe]

10. Sigh.... Palatka... nt

[midnight]

11. That poor teacher.... Kids will find anything and bring in for show and tell....

[Jennicut]

12. As the mother of 5 and 6 year old daughters...wtf is the step father doing

not keeping the gun safely out of the reach of the child? I mean, that was a tragedy waiting to happen. Kids that age are immensely curious. My daughters go through my purse unless I move it away on a high shelf...and all I have in there is some makeup, hairspray and and a few dollars. I think this is not necessarily about guns but about people who clearly can't parent, step parent or not.

[Stumbler]

13. Aww, shucks...

He's just practicing his 2nd Amendment rights, ain't he?

(Rinsing my mouth w/ salt-water now...)

[mackerel]

14. This struck me:

"Griffith promised there will be criminal charges if any adult is found negligent in the case."

Should I laugh or cry?

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Both, that works best for me

[JCMach1]

15. Palatka is in one of the poorest Florida counties...

I lived and also taught there most of my life.

[Anakin Skywalker]

19. Palatka is redneck territory!

[JCMach1]

25. It has a majority of registered Democrats ...

However, think of it as a rural ghetto... 50% White 50% Minorities and very, very poor.

[Bragi]

20. Guns don't kill, 5-year-olds do

What I don't get is why gun-packers are so scared and frightened of people.

How scared are they?

They are so scared they think "personal protection" means they have to be equipped with a lethal weapon at all times so they can threaten or shoot anyone at a moment's notice at malls, in schools, and everywhere else they go.

Weird, eh? I don't quite fathom the origins of their acute fear and insecurity, but it is obviously a problem for them, and I wish them well dealing with it. I hope someday they can learn to live their lives like most people do -- unarmed and unafraid.

Until then, is it too much to ask that they at least keep their guns out of the hands of children?

[CanSocDem]

22. How scared??

How would you feel walking around the world's largest open-air, mental asylum for the criminally insane....????

Just askin'.....


.

[xchrom]

21. words fail...nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

27. If it's not locked up, kids will get to it

whether it's guns, swimming pools, car keys, medicines, household chemicals, booze.

Hiding things just doesn't work.

I'd expect the stepfather will be hit with a fine, and that'll be the end of it.

:hi:

[Ilsa]

28. That's why we don't have one. A locked up gun doesn't help

if you need protection in a hurry, and we have kids. We decided not to take a chance.

[aikoaiko]

30. I keep a loaded gun in my car.....

...but now its in this locked container in my glove box because I have a five year old boy.




These boxes are relatively secure (steel) and cheap ($30), and provide relative quick access (combination lock).

They are on sale now at Cabelas for $25. If you know someone with a kid and owns handguns, they make great presents. People routinely give new parents child safety devices -- I recommend gun safes or metal lock boxes.