While the likelihood of a gun firing when dropped is said to be “extremely low,” the negligence of irresponsible parents should never be underestimated. That said, a couple living in Granite Falls, Washington, were too late to realize just how careless they were when a gun fell from a coffee table in their home, killing their 1-year-old daughter. The toddler was reportedly sitting atop the table with her mother, who was browsing Facebook when the firearm fell and discharged, leading to the baby’s death.
34-year-old Jesse Kitson and 26-year-old Arabella Watts were initially charged with “first-degree manslaughter in a domestic violence” but pleaded not guilty, according to King 5. However, the two later did plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter, and the father pled guilty to “first-degree unsafe storage of a firearm.” “Irresponsible gun owners………. that’s all that needs to be said,” a Redditor comments on the situation, to which they are precisely correct. This incident could definitely have been avoided if the Washington couple had been more mindful and responsible.
“This is why as a parent I never owned a weapon,” expresses another follower of the news report, asserting that accidental discharges from firearms could “strike a neighbor through the wall.” Another commenter suggested that Kitson and Watts should have never had a child, to begin with, seeing how their extreme negligence led to their toddler’s death. “Some people should not have children. Evolution works, sort of,” they said callously.
A similar incident occurred some years ago in Chester, Pennsylvania, where a gun also fell off a table, shooting a 9-month-old baby in the head. In this case, the firearm was reported not to have been recovered, which is beyond sketchy. “In a related story, A knife jumped out a window and stabbed a pedestrian in the back,” a sarcastic comment read. “Yeah, and my dog ate my homework,” joked another commenter. “I call BS! Guns don’t fall off tables and go off!!!” exclaimed a third.
That said, whether the guns discharged in these two tragic incidents were accidental is not as important as parents of toddlers being more responsible for what’s going on in their homes. This should be especially true when the household possesses a firearm.
