Mother Charged After Son Shoots and Kills Other Boy in Car

I saw this story out of Dallas earlier in the month and it should serve as a reminder of the danger of guns in the wrong hands.

On April 11 at a Walmart in the Dallas area, Shamira Wright-Sanders went to the department store with her nine year old son and an 11 year old boy that was in her care. She left the two boys in the car while she went in.

While she was shopping inside the store, the nine year old found a handgun in the car and shot the 11 year old boy. Emergency crews responded and took the 11 year old to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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KWTX reports that Sanders is 32 and is in custody on three charges of endangering a child causing serious bodily injury. A tragic death that could have been prevented.

Let's talk about gun safety. Rule number one should be to keep guns out of the hands of children. Keep your guns locked up and away from those who haven't been properly trained to use one.

Keeping a gun out of reach of this child in this situation would have prevented the tragic events that happened on April 11.

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A quick google search on gun safety brought the 12 Golden Rules of Safe Gun Handling up.

1. Always treat the gun as loaded.
2. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
3. Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
5. Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy.
6. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
7. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the gun you are using.
8. Always use proper Ammunition.
9. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before loading and shooting.
10. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, hold your shooting position for several seconds; then with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, carefully unload the gun.
11. Don't rely on the gun's safety to keep it from firing.
12. Be aware of your surroundings when handling guns so you don't trip or lose your balance and accidentally point and/or fire the gun at anyone or anything.

Owning a gun is your right, but being careless with it can result in injury or death. As gun owners, we've got to do better than this.