Posted on 07/15/2006 8:35:57 PM PDT by Coleus
An 11-year-old East Brunswick boy who fatally shot his friend last month was surrounded by guns. In the East Brunswick townhouse where the boy lived with his father and grandmother, investigators discovered a cache of 98 firearms, nearly all unsecured, authorities said. In the bedroom he shared with his father, police found four rifles and 21 handguns, five of which were loaded.
Middlesex County authorities said yesterday the boy's easy access to weapons led to the June 28 shooting death of Alexander Khoudiakov, 12. The boy's father, Michael Guerriero, 46, and grandmother, Josephine Guerriero, 72, who also lives in the townhouse, were charged yesterday with endangering the welfare of a child for failing to secure the firearms from Guerriero's son, Alexander and another 9-year-old boy who was also in the house. Both adults also were charged with fourth-degree possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine.
The boy, identified by authorites as "MG" because he is a juvenile, was charged yesterday with aggravated assault and aggravated manslaughter. Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said the boy told police he did not know the gun was loaded. "There was no evidence of intent to cause the death, but he acted recklessly by intentionally pulling the trigger," Kaplan said in explaining the charges.
Kaplan said the shooting occurred when the boy pulled out a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson from his father's closet, held it 6 to 12 inches from Alexander's face and, believing the weapon was unloaded, pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced Alexander's eye and severed his brain stem, killing him instantly, Kaplan said. Josephine Guerriero was home at the time of the shooting, but Michael Guerriero was working at a restaurant on Route 22 in Bridgewater. The boy's defense lawyer maintains the shooting was a tragic accident.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Tragic accident? That kid probably had his choice of everything from a .38 revolver to a water cooled .30 machine gun.
People who are of good moral character have the right to own a weapon, but once you buy 98 of them, then you know that something is very wrong.
One gun is too many in the hands of irresponsible people. An 11 year old kid has the capacity to understand that guns are not toys and yet this kid stuck a gun in his friend's face and pulled the trigger.
Sounds to me that the father and grandmother didn't teach him to respect the weapon and nor did they provide him with ample supervision.
I guess if you want a coin collection, you should only be allowed one coin.
The number of guns anyone owns has no relevance.
I don't own 98 guns but I am a gun owner and I always taught my kids gun safety.
What Shooter 2.5 said!!!
What if I have 98 knives? What do you think of that?
L
How about 97? If you own 97, are you still OK?
OK I note you are a Student 9th Grade. Welcome to FR
We always had plenty of guns around the house when I was growing up but I never shot anybody. My dad would have tanned my hide.
I have no problem at all with 98 guns. I have a major problem with any loaded weapons unsecured around children.
That's not a bad start
The story is tragic.
Unfortunately the MSM will try to outlaw guns now.
I grew up around weapons. My dad had 30 or so, mostly rifles and shotguns. Of course they were stashed away and the ammunition was kept seperate. He drilled into my brothers and sister (all hunters) the technique of checking to see if a weapon was loaded any time you first had it in your hands.
When he was a kid in Minnesota. He and his friend would go duck hunting before school. They would bring their shotguns to school and keep them in their lockers. One time they were late because they got stuck in the mud. They trailed into the principals office. they only thing he asked them was "did you get any?" then sent them to class without consequence.
Times have changed.
After school we collected our shells and off we went.
L
"I guess if you want a coin collection, you should only be allowed one coin."
Touche'
I have a friend in K.C., emailed me a pic of his cache of weapons, around 70. There is NOTHING wrong with that, unless you're a bed wetting liberal
So what? I grew up surrounded by guns. They were tucked away in several rooms of the house, in the cars, in my neighbors' houses, in my relatives' houses, in my friends' houses. Locks... What locks? Not even on the front door. And never did I nor any of the other kids I grew up with EVER shoot anybody except in war. Being surrounded by lots of guns has nothing to do with it. The kind of people who own the guns has everything to do with it.
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