Posted on 10/23/2013 8:45:50 AM PDT by Altariel
A teenage babysitter was arrested Tuesday and charged in the death of a 5-year-old Texas boy who accidentally shot himself with the babysitter's gun while she was napping, authorities said.
Melissa Ann Ringhardt, 19, of Vidor was being held in the Orange County Jail on a felony charge of abandoning or endangering a child, the county sheriff's office said in a statement. She could face a sentence of six months to two years if convicted.
The sheriff's office said Ringhardt, who lives with the boy's family, left her semiautomatic .40-caliber handgun on a coffee table when she went into a bedroom to take a nap Monday afternoon. When she woke up, she couldn't immediately find the boy, identified as John Read, according to the sheriff's office. She eventually discovered him dead in the living room, it said.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.nbcnews.com ...
I am trying to picture the scene
Get to the house, the parents leave.. Oh! time to look at my gun... wow, so pretty... I think I’ll set it down right here on the coffee table... gosh I’m tired, time for a nap...
I wonder where the kid is? eh- I’m sure he’ll be ok..ZZZzzzzz
she got a new gun, didn’t have proper training, was playing with it and showing the kid how you can play cops and robbers and blammo
There is not much smell from modern smokeless powder.
But I otherwise agree with you.
If you had it in a holster on your hip and fell asleep, would you feel him drag it out?
Must be a rough town for the young woman to believe shee needed a firearm, or theres a stalker bothering the owner/sitter.
One mistake is all it takes, no second chances.
***
You’re absolutely right; the little boy has no second chances.
First of all, “Don’t nap when baby-sitting” is a pretty good rule of thumb.
Secondly, I’d be much more likely to feel anything moved next to my hip than to feel any object taken from a coffee table in another room.
There are many precautions which it seems were not taken.
I just can’t imagine the agony of the boy’s parents and family.
Praying for them and all loved ones.
that too
Saw the hair. Not buying it.
She wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone.
> I think they need to swab her hands before they close this case
Totally agree. Check her clothes with Liminol for minute blood splatters as well
I would not go that far (yet) but I am NOT buying this story as told until they find no gunpowder residue or blood spatter on her
If they don’t find anything and the gunpowder pattern is only on the kid, then I will be the first to admit I am wrong
When it’s a million Obamacare fails or 500 Chicago murders, it’s a ‘glitch’.
Maybe she just got tired of babysitting and decided to fix that.../s
Can somebody enlighten me on this? Thanks.
I'm trying to remember the last time my local rag published a story about a citizen with a legal firearm using his gun to defend himself against a criminal. I think I've never read one. They only publish stories about gun accidents...especially if the victim is a child.
You have to be 18 to purchase a firearm in Texas. You only have to be 21 to purchase a handgun from a dealer, or obtain a CHL (exception for active military: 18).
I don’t think she’s allowed to be in possession of a handgun without an adult present.
She’s 19. She’s an Adult.
Baby sitter high on marijuana when boy, 5, shot
http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Baby-sitter-high-on-marijuana-when-boy-5-shot-229399511.html
The Beaumont Enterprise reports a probable cause affidavit says Ringhardt was “intoxicated throughout the day” and left a .40-caliber handgun on a coffee table while she went to take a nap.
Thanks for posting this update.
Such a sad story.
In GA, you can possess a handgun at 18. Just can't buy it from a FFL (Fed law).
My 18 y.o. daughter "owns" a Glock 19, but she can't have it in her dorm right now.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131023153947-melissa-ringhart-story-top-1023-story-top.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/23/justice/texas-babysitter-gun-death/
A DA, a little less likely; the kid would have to be really yanking on the trigger, while having it pointed at himself.
Something with an external safety, hmmm.
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