This is a real tragedy, and one which I hope all who choose to keep firearms for self-defense will consider. Just having a gun is not enough. You must know how to use it, when to use it, or tragedy can occur.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...ld-home-invasion-by-accident?odyssey=nav|head
Two of the burglars are being prosecuted for murder - even though they did not fire the shots that killed the little girl, they were the original cause of the incident and in the USA, they can be held criminally liable for the results; just like a person who commits arson on an abandoned building can be charged with murder if there is someone inside he didn't know about and didn't intend to kill. It doesn't matter - you're responsible for the consequences of your actions.
But it does not bring the poor little girl back. I'm sure the step-father will live with this on his conscience forever. If you own a firearm for self-defense; take this to heart. Learn to use it properly, learn when to use it and when not to. Practice with it. Be as safe as you can be with a deadly weapon.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...ld-home-invasion-by-accident?odyssey=nav|head
LANSING -- The stepfather of a 7-year-old Lansing girl shot and killed last year during a home invasion testified today that he shot the girl accidentally.LaVar Burton, 33, testified that he ran upstairs in his Lansing home July 22, 2010 after seeing a man with a gun break through the living room screen late at night. Burton testified that the intruder fired several shots at him as Burton ran upstairs. Burton then retrieved his .45 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, and tried to return fire from the upstairs landing, but the gun jammed, according to testimony.
Burton testified he then ran into a bedroom, and was able to dislodge the bullets. He said he stepped out of the room, heard footsteps coming towards him in the darkened house and fired one shot. "I closed my eyes and then I shot," Burton testified.
The next thing he knew, his 7-year-old stepdaughter Amaia Edmond, "was lying on the floor." She was later pronounced dead.
Two of the burglars are being prosecuted for murder - even though they did not fire the shots that killed the little girl, they were the original cause of the incident and in the USA, they can be held criminally liable for the results; just like a person who commits arson on an abandoned building can be charged with murder if there is someone inside he didn't know about and didn't intend to kill. It doesn't matter - you're responsible for the consequences of your actions.
But it does not bring the poor little girl back. I'm sure the step-father will live with this on his conscience forever. If you own a firearm for self-defense; take this to heart. Learn to use it properly, learn when to use it and when not to. Practice with it. Be as safe as you can be with a deadly weapon.