Gun Safety Stressed After Shooting Deaths Of Two Children
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Gun safety experts want parents to hear this wake up call. In less than a week, two children have died from gun shot wounds and in both cases, it appears the guns were unsecured.
Monday, a five-year-old Denton boy died. He was accidentally shot by an eight year old this weekend. Last week, two-year-old Kinsler Davis found a loaded gun in Corsicana home and shot himself. He will be laid to test Tuesday.
There is a gun in 50-percent of Texas homes, which is why gun instructors say gun training and safety steps are vital.
Dean Pantello, a licensed instructor for Dallas Gun Safety, says parents need to start more conversations about gun safety.
"It all starts with them. They have to have the proper training. Most don't know the rules of gun safety."
Brian Robertson, an injury prevention scientist at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, agrees when it comes to a parent's role.
"Parents should teach children about firearm safety, whether you're a gun owner or not."
In ninety percent of child shooting cases, the victims were injured or killed in their home or by someone they knew.
Robertson says kids as young as three can pick up a gun, pull the trigger and fire. "That may be something parents don't understand, the strength of a three year old is enough to fire a weapon."
Safety experts say parents should lock up their guns, and ask their neighbors if they own guns.
