4-Year-Old Dead After Finding Gun In Car While Mom Was Shopping

The child’s grandmother can’t understand how her 4-year-old grandson found a gun inside his mom’s car because, according to her, she doesn’t own a gun. However it got there, an irresponsible gun owner is to blame for this young child’s death that occurred around 5 PM on Sunday.

His mother was inside a Publix grocery store shopping, and in the car along with him were his two relatives, a 13-year-old and an infant.

At some point, the 4-year-old found a handgun inside the vehicle and discharged the firearm, shooting himself. The 13-year-old ran into the store for help, and police and paramedics arrived quickly. The boy was taken to the hospital but sadly died from his injuries a short time later.

So far, no charges have been filed.

“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the Hernandez family,” said DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos. “We’re imploring gun owners to always keep their guns safe and secure.”

Someone left that firearm inside the vehicle, which we don’t recommend if you’re not in the vehicle with it. If you insist on keeping a firearm inside your vehicle, it is paramount that it be secured. When adding children into the mix, I’d give any vehicle storage of a firearm a hard ‘no’ if you aren’t going to be in that vehicle with them.

This was an absolute 100% avoidable tragedy, and it shouldn’t happen anywhere for any reason. As gun owners, we have a responsibility to secure our firearms from unauthorized access and make sure that others are safe. It is up to us to prevent this type of incident from happening, and there is absolutely no excuse for this recklessness.