This was not an accident, it was parental idiocy and child neglect

So a 5 year old boy in Kentucky shoots and kills his 2 year old sister with his 22LR rifle. It was a bolt action, single shot Crickett. Mom was home. They claim it was an accident; the boy was "just playing with it" and didn't realize there was a shell in the chamber. The gun normally sits in a corner in a room of the home.

1. Why wasn't this gun locked up?
2. Why wasn't the in gun lock on safe? (Cricket has a tubular key lock on their rifles)
3. What parent leaves a possibly loaded weapon around for their 5 year old to "play" with?
4. Why wasn't the child trained to only use the gun under parental supervision?
5. How do you call this train wreck an accident?

These parents need to go to jail. This is classic child neglect for the 5yr old and involuntary manslaughter for the 2yr old. I have nothing but pity for the poor boy who will now go through life as his sisters killer.

If you are in a friend or neighbors house and see firearms out and about, chastise them. We are a community and we should self-police. Although both of my kids are gun safety trained, I still check on the status of firearms before they go over to a new friends home. A little bit of "being the parent" goes a long way in keeping your children safe.

Less importantly, this kind of crap makes law abiding gun owners look bad in the press.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/01/18000685-five-year-old-boy-accidentally-shoots-kills-sister?lite