A Chicago man is facing child endangerment charges after his 2-year-old daughter found his handgun and discharged it, wounding herself in the hand. Luckily, she only suffered a flesh wound.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, a man is facing child endangerment charges after his two-year-old daughter found his gun and discharged it on Oct. 23, shooting herself in the hand.
Demetrius Williams, 29, was at home with his daughter when she was in the kitchen and discovered his pistol in a kitchen drawer. She picked it up and pulled the trigger.
Williams heard a loud noise and went to investigate, finding the girl with his gun. Williams has a valid concealed carry permit and an Illinois FOID.
The girl was taken to Comer’s Children’s Hospital for treatment. Williams was charged with misdemeanor child endangerment over the incident.
Stash Your Damn Guns Out Of Reach Of Children
In 2023, nobody should need to be told these things, but here we are. Gun safety around children is critically important.
If you don’t have some sort of safe storage like a safe or, at minimum, a locking cabinet…at least store guns well out of the reach of children. They find guns in kitchen and dresser drawers, in center consoles, and then incidents like these happen.
And sometimes they aren’t so lucky. There are dozens of incidents in the news every year where a child dies because the parent is stupid and doesn’t put the gun out of their reach or – better yet – lock it away.
“Toilet gun” memes are funny on Facebook, but here in the real world? Having loaded guns stashed around the house gets kids killed. This is why secure storage cannot be recommended enough, or – at the bare minimum – storing guns unloaded, with the ammunition hidden away and unaccessible.
Put it this way:
A basic lockbox from the hardware store? $30.
Putting it on the high shelf in your closet? Free.
Your kids not shooting themselves due to your negligence? Priceless.
