Boy, 10, accused of killing mother with Christmas present rifle

[marmar]

Boy, 10, accused of killing mother with Christmas present rifle
January 4, 2011 - 10:30AM


A 10-year-old US boy was being held in custody on Monday for allegedly shooting and killing his mother with a rifle he received as a Christmas present.

Deborah McVay, 46, was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head at her home in Big Prairie, Ohio on Sunday night, according to a statement from the Holmes County Sheriff's Office.

McVay's mother and the 10-year-old's grandmother, Beulah Mae Mike, said the .22 calibre rifle allegedly used in the shooting had been a Christmas present to the boy.

"He was too young to have a gun," Ms Mike said. She said she believed the shooting "had to be an accident". ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/boy-10-accused-of-killing-mother-with-christmas-present-rifle-20110104-19e8q.html

[peacebird]

1. sad for the whole family... poor kid, poor mom...

[virgogal]

2. Just the thing for a 10 year old's Christmas gift,a rifle. Boggles the mind.

[Travis_0004]

4. I see nothing wrong with a 10 year old 'owning' a rifle

Even though its his, it should be secured by the parents away from the kid when not in use under parental supervision.

[marmar]

5. En serio?

What's wrong with a race car set?

[theoldman]

7. The mother did not have to provide the ammo until it was needed.

[bluestate10]

13. Does not look like good parental supervision was exercised.

Giving a 10 year kid a loaded gun before the kid understands the uses and danger of guns is insane.

[stray cat]

18. You are right - In rural areas it is not uncommon and many kids are carefully supervised

[Twillig]

21. I 'owned' a .22 at 8 years of age.

I might as well have 'owned' the family car.

Hell, I'm 46 and my dad still has 'my' .22 in his closet out there in Minnesota. Bastard.

[DrDan]

3. a gun as a present for a 10-year old - what have we, as a nation, become

[RamboLiberal]

9. Not at all unusual in rural areas which I believe this area of Ohio is

Rural kids got .22 or youth shotguns or air guns at this age in the past and still do. That being said the guns & ammo should be locked up when not under the supervision of an adult.

And unfortunately with family problems these kind of incidents can happen. We have an 11 year old (now 13) who killed his stepmother 2 years ago with his shotgun. I believe he has yet to go to trial.

[cali]

10. that's hardly a new phenomenon

and where I live, it's quite common- has been for a very long time.

[SteveM]

23. I can't answer your sprawling question, but by 10 I could (and did) use every gun...

in our household. I and my brothers were taught how to use guns safely, and went on hunting trips for some years before we got our first personally-owned guns at 13. We were well-versed enough that guns were no longer forbidden fruit we had to show off.

BTW, a thirty-year-old who is not well-versed in firearms should not receive one.

[Obamanaut]

29. I got my first rifle, a .22 single shot rifle, at age 10 That was 1952. nt

[theoldman]

6. Before making a judgment we need to hear the rest of the story.

Farm boys start shooting guns when they are 5 to 6 years old. Of course they don't do this on their own initiative. They are taught by an older person.

[NuclearDem]

8. +1000

It's really annoying when people pass judgment without knowing the full facts.

[Motown_Johnny]

12. OK then, what facts do we know

We know that the 10 year old was given a .22 caliber rifle for christmas

We know you need no less than one bullet to fire that weapon

We know the mother was shot in the head and died

We know that it is assumed that rifle was the weapon that caused her death

We know that the 10 year old is under arrest for her death




If it turns out that the 10 year old did shoot his mother with his new rifle then drawing some conclusions seems acceptable.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. +1

[SteveM]

25. Sounds like he wasn't taught properly about guns. We were...

in our family.

[OhioChick]

11. A 10 year old owning a gun in a rural area is not unusual....

My Father lived in a rural area and had his own before the age of 10.

Don't quite know the circumstances of this story, though.

[liberal N proud]

14. The mother should have said, you will shoot my eye out to the kid

Sad story.

[kgnu_fan]

16. Only in un-civilized countries it is "normal" for a 10 years old child to get a rifle

[oneshooter]

20. I received my first 22 when I was 10, that was over 45yrs ago.

All 3 of my sons started shooting, under my supervision, at age eight. They used a Daisy BB gun, which was stored in one of my gun safes when not in use. They learned the proper way to oil and maintain the rifle, safe handling, and proper sighting. The main target was aluminum cans and paper targets.

Now my oldest shoots HiPower, Middle son is a Field Medic in the US Army, and my youngest shoots 50 and 100yd bullseye with a Match Grade 22.

Proper training and safe gun handling are required.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[kgnu_fan]

30. I had a friend who shot his friend when he was 9 yeas old. He was from Texas, He committed suicide

when he was around 60.... (he was ex-husband of my friend who struggled to escape from him for long time, and when she left him, he killed himself...) He suffered from his childhood killing, was trying to forget this trauma... was a heroin addict all his life. He was a very talented racer and great VW car mechanic....tragedy....

[Recovered Repug]

24. I couldn't agree more.

I got mine when I was 8. Why wait so long?

[oneshooter]

28. A Kansas pig farmer was a hard life then. n/t

[Recovered Repug]

33. I grew up in Iowa.

My father was a child of the Depression. Giving my brothers and me rifles wasn't so much out of need, but out of practicality. He wanted to teach us the right way to handle firearms - instead of "learning" from a dumb ass friend.

[stray cat]

17. Very sad - may not be an accident

[HockeyMom]

19. 10 year olds should be getting toys or games,

not guns for Christmas.

[wikileaksfan]

22. America's crazy gun culture strikes again

I hope the gun lobby enjoys their profits.

[SteveM]

26. You like that whiff of culture war, don't you? So does the GOP. nt

[oneshooter]

31. We are still awaiting your report on the $100 guns at Wal Mart

And how easy it is to get one and just walk out with no paperwork.

Just a reminder.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[Junkdrawer]

27. More details here:

“Come as fast as they can. I shot my mom. I shot her with a gun.”

Those are the words of 10-year-old Joey McVay heard in the background of a 911 call made by his neighbor early Sunday evening in Big Prairie, a rural community about 20 miles southwest of Wooster. The recording does not capture the child, who was charged with murder Monday afternoon in Holmes County Juvenile Court, saying why he did it, and officials aren’t offering a public explanation yet.

...

County Prosecutor Steven Knowling would say only that statements by a witness, whom he declined to identify, and by Joey indicate that the defendant shot his mother on purpose, a necessary component of the murder statute.

....

There will be continued investigation into the boy’s background, schooling and discipline history, but there will not be a bindover hearing. In other words, he will not be tried as an adult, Knowling said.

Because of this, Joey McVay likely cannot be held in state custody past his 21st birthday if he’s convicted. Knowling said his office could pursue a serious youthful offender dispositional sentencing, which, under Ohio law, could extend the term to the same length — 15 years to life — as an adult would receive.

....

http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20110103/UPDATES01/110103008

[haele]

36. Details sound as if it was a case of giving a kid with anger issues a gun.

I am of the old school - teach your kid confidence and self-respect before you teach them how to handle weapons in the first place, and then you can give them a weapon if you think they're able to respect the use of that weapon.
That being said, if the kid had serious emotional problems, you don't give him or her a gun and think teaching them the zen of shooting would make them grow up.
That would be just as bad than giving a habitual mean drunk and abuser a gun. Very little good comes from someone who is out of control with access to an "easy kill" type of weapon.

Haele

[xchrom]

32. My dad was a farm boy in Iowa - he wasn't raised around guns.

I spent my youth with farm boys - friends of my dads - none of
Them had guns.

I know lots of people want to claim rural 'high ground'
On this issue - but not all rural kids are raised with guns.

[lonestarnot]

34. This is fucking ridiculous.

[Odin2005]

35. Ugh, the anti-gun nuts have to politicize these tragedies. Every. Damn. Time.

You guys know that 100 year ago it was perfectly normal for a country boy to have a small gun and go around shooting vermin for fun, right?

[seabeyond]

37. +1 on the politicizing a tragedy. nt

[JanMichael]

38. I will likely be banned for this thought...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppOXpyhM2wA

Yes it is a tragedy, yes it was a .22 not a 1.77 bb gun, but come on who didn't think or make this relationship (albeit nuts) in their head if not their keyboard?