Published: October 14, 2009 07:57 am      

Prevent another tragedy

It is one of those almost unfathomable, awful tragedies that is the last thing newspapers want to report.

An 8-year-old boy in Deposit was shot to death Saturday afternoon. Then it was revealed by the state police that the little boy’s 12-yearold brother had been arrested as a juvenile delinquent for conduct that would constitute the crime of second-degree murder.

There was no adult around the house on Neale Road when the shooting occurred, an investigation revealed.

Troopers said the 12-year-old had retrieved a rifle from inside the residence and discharged one round.

That’s all it took, one bullet from one rifle, allegedly in the hands of a child who for whatever reason ended the life of his little brother. Maybe it was an accident, a kid playing with a weapon he didn’t know could do such harm.

Perhaps he was angry, lost his temper and did it on purpose. Only time will reveal all the facts.

What is not in dispute is that a family is torn apart, lives have been ruined and a child is dead.

People on both sides of the volatile gun-control debate will most certainly disagree when discussing this horrible event, but there is at least one thing that is beyond dispute.

A child without adult supervision should never have access to a loaded firearm.

Toward that end, we offer this item from the National Rifle Association’s Gun Safety Rules:

Store guns so they are not accessible to unauthorized persons.

Many factors must be considered when deciding where and how to store guns. A person’s particular situation will be a major part of the consideration. Dozens of gun storage devices, as well as locking devices that attach directly to the gun, are available. However, mechanical locking devices, like the mechanical safeties built into guns, can fail and should not be used as a substitute for safe gun handling and the observance of all gun safety rules.

We would like to think that this would be a matter of common sense, but the tragedy in Deposit is sad evidence that it is not common enough.

Somebody apparently left a loaded rifle where a 12-year-old could get at it, and then left two children without an adult around.

This newspaper certainly has its differences with the NRA and its agenda, but we urge every parent who feels the necessity of having a gun in the house to at the very least read the NRA’s “Parents’ Guide to Gun Safety.” Here’s the Web address: www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/ infoparents.asp.

It could help preserve a child’s life.