Elmore County – An unfortunate incident claimed the life of a toddler from Wetumpka early Saturday morning.
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin relayed that the 2 and a half-year-old child stumbled upon a handgun in his parents’ bedroom while his mother was away at work and his father was asleep.
“The dad got up during the night and was investigating a noise he heard,” Franklin said. “He walked outside to see what was going on.”
Franklin noted that the father typically took a .40 caliber handgun with him when he went outside.
“From my understanding when he came back in he put the gun on the nightstand and went back to sleep,” Franklin said. “A short time later he was awakened to one gun shot.”
He surmises that the child woke up and began to roam around the house while the father was still asleep.
“The child undoubtedly was curious I’m sure,” he said. “He eased out of bed I think and picked it up.”
Franklin asserts that most toddlers possess sufficient strength to pull the trigger of a handgun and handle it to some extent.
“You are talking about a gun with a two- to three-inch barrel,” Franklin said. “They can make the gun go off.”
The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, in tandem with Haynes Ambulance, attended to the incident that occurred just north of Wetumpka.
Franklin emphasized the importance of each gun-owning household having unique methods of gun storage and family conversations about firearm safety.
“Different precautions are taken by everyone to ensure the weapon is safely stored. Educating kids about guns is also crucial,” Franklin stressed. “I presume each house has its own set of safety measures in place to secure their homes from potential dangers, all the while factoring in the presence of children. This incident we’re discussing is extremely regrettable. It’s a distinct circumstance when dealing with a 2 ½ year old as opposed to an 8 or 12 year old.”
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