Teen was playing with gun when he shot and killed himself

[jpak]

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Mother-calls-shooting-an-accident-125390638.html

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- It was quiet on Green Street in Rock Hill, even though more than a dozen people encircled a house in the neighborhood Monday night.

"It's been pretty hard," said Annie Bratton, as she spoke of her son's death.

Staten Bratton, 18, died Sunday evening. His mother said he was playing with a gun and didn't realize it was loaded.

"He was a great kid. He had real manners," she said from her front yard, holding a picture of her son when he was in middle school.

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[IamK]

1. 18 is not a child as the story says....

"Relatives said the teen had been in trouble, but was turning his life around...." Is this line in every story when a teen is killed...

[GreenStormCloud]

2. Give him a Darwin Award. N/T

[pipoman]

3. Needless, tragic teen deaths happen every day...

http://www.google.com/search?q=teen+dies+atv

[aikoaiko]

4. I saddens my every time someone accidently kills him or herself with guns or otherwise.

I know to some people that it bothers them more that a gun was instrumental in the accidental death, but not to me. They are all sad.

[ileus]

5. Guns aren't toys, safety training, and I wonder how much experience he had?

[drpepper67]

6. And 3 other children drown in family pools.

[Common Sense Party]

7. A good friend of our family died two weeks ago by drowning in the lake.

He was 17, star athlete, good student.

Do you think we should ban swimming?

[Atypical Liberal]

8. Just goes to show that abstinance and ignorance never work.

"Several people were in the home when the gun went off, including three teenagers who were in the room with Staten Bratton. Annie Bratton said she wants to send a reminder to others.

"Never play with guns. If you feel your child has a gun, check. A gun is not for a child to play with. Not even an 18-year-old child," she said.

Annie Bratton said she doesn't know where her son got the gun. She said she doesn't allow guns in her home and would not have allowed him to bring one in the house."

Just goes to show that abstinance and ignorance never work. Just like with sex education or drug education, "just say no" doesn't work. If you leave kids to learn by the school of hard knocks instead of educating them sometimes the knocks are pretty damn hard.

It's hard to think of an excuse for an 18-year-old young man killing himself by playing with a gun.

[jeepnstein]

9. Eighteen is not a child.

It's still too young to die. Either he didn't know better or didn't care. I don't think I'll go there.