A 3-year-old boy and son of a police officer died Tuesday after accidentally shooting himself.

[RamboLiberal]

A 3-year-old boy and son of a police officer died Tuesday after accidentally shooting himself.

According to the Maryland Heights Police Department, officers arrived at the scene of the shooting around 5:30p.m., and found that the Daniel Metz had been shot once in the chest. He was taken to DePaul Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The boy's father, Ryan Metz, who's been an officer with the Maryland Heights Police Department for the last three years, was working at the time of the shooting and responded to the call of his son's death.

Police say the toddler's mother discovered her son and called 911.

The gun Metz used to shoot himself was in his parents' bedroom.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/3-year-old-son-of-Maryland-Heights-police-officer-dies-after-shooting-self-125862653.html

No excuse for any adult to leave a loaded gun that a child can access. We've had 2 incidents in my area where a young child of a policer officer found dad's loaded weapon and shot themselves. One died. Our DA charged the officer.

[defendandprotect]

1. How safe are guns when a police officer doesn't have the common sense needed to protect his child--!

[pipoman]

2. Safer than swimming pools and ATVs according to the numbers

as well as bikes, football, skiing, and a whole host of other recreational equipment..

[RamboLiberal]

3. Exactly - a police officer of all people should know to lock up

a loaded gun. For under $100 you can get a nice quick access gun safe for the bedroom.

[defendandprotect]

7. No gun should be sold without a LOCK --

[RamboLiberal]

9. Every new gun I've purchased came with one

And my county even gave me one when I renewed my CCW.

But they have to be used. Best thing for parents would be a small gun safe if you want to keep a loaded handgun available for quick access.

IMHO every cop with kids should be issued one with their service weapon.

If I was a judge or chief I'd sentence/mandate cops whose children accidentally shoot themselves to have to speak to groups of police officers and trainees and CCW classes about this tragedy and yes it can happen to you!

[Hoyt]

13. So should NRA trainers -- but we've had several reports of same thing. Just proves gunners aren't

as safe as they want us to believe.

[friendly_iconoclast]

14. Who are "they", and what do "they" want us to believe?

Break out the Hoytspeak/English dictionary and support your thesis.

[ileus]

16. I wasn't poking out impolitely in public like you say you want....now what?

[ileus]

5. Guns are safe....people handling them are unsafe.

3YO's don't know jack about firearm safety or the difference between a cap pistol and a CZ.

[defendandprotect]

8. Guns aren't safe -- but we're to believe the child was an idiot -- ???

The child did what children will do --

[eqfan592]

10. Guns are safe so long as basic safety measures are taken. Nt

[Euromutt]

11. No, the child's father was an idiot

He left a loaded firearm unsecured in a location where the child was evidently in a position to find it. That is what was unsafe. The gun didn't load itself, the gun didn't leave itself lying around to be found, and the gun didn't discharge itself.

[ileus]

17. never said the kid was an idiot....as another poster said, the kid did what kids do.

It's pretty obvious neglect on the parents part...

[ileus]

4. Unless it's on my hip or just above my head at night, mine are locked up.

Always....

[madrchsod]

6. my dumb ass nephew stole a fully loaded ....

45 with extra loaded mags from an unlocked car in an unlocked garage. the owner was a policeman and the gun and shells were his personal property not his official weapon.

my nephew sold the gun and mags to people who later turned the gun and shells over to the police. they also turned my nephew in. since he is a juvenile he received no jail time but 5 year probation with a threat of hard time after age 16.

why in the hell would a policeman or anyone else have a loaded gun and mags in an unlocked car in a unlocked garage?

[Euromutt]

12. Ask Gil Kerlikowske

Currently Obama's "drug czar," previously chief of the Seattle Police Department. While in that position, he had his department-issue Glock 26 stolen from under the driver's seat of his unmarked (also department-issue) Crown Vic, which he had apparently neglected to lock.

Note that "unmarked" doesn't mean a whole lot here in Washington state, because motor vehicles operated by most state and local government agencies have "tax exempt" license plates, clearly recognizable by the letters "XMT" on them. So when you spot a Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor (or, increasingly, a Dodge Charger), an "XMT" license plate almost certainly means it's a cop car.

[friendly_iconoclast]

15. Kerlikowske has been a living example of the saying "It's not what you know, it's who you know" ....

....since he was chief of the Port Saint Lucie PD. His sense of self-importance would not be out of place coming from Douglas

MacArthur or the Kim family.

[RamboLiberal]

18. Climbed on a laundry basket and got from a dresser drawer

Police say the 3-year-old son of a Maryland Heights police officer who fatally shot himself Tuesday with his father's handgun had found the weapon in a top dresser drawer.

Maj. Michael Kozuszek said Thursday that the boy, Daniel Metz, climbed on top of a plastic laundry basket and retrieved the .40-caliber handgun from the top dresser drawer before shooting himself once in the head.

Police responded to the Metz home in the 12200 block of Glenpark Drive about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday after Daniel's mother found him in a rear bedroom.

Kozuszek said the boy's father, Officer Ryan Metz, routinely stored the handgun out of reach inside a bedroom closet. But on Tuesday, Ryan Metz put the gun in the dresser drawer because he was scheduled to work a shift in private security after finishing his afternoon shift for Maryland Heights.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_36f7a26a-b3ca-11e0-8e42-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1Smce9qfr

I swear some idiots must never have been a kid themselves. Kids are ingeneous at finding ways to climb and get in to things.