Eight-year-old wounded by rifle in car trunk
May 6, 2017
Colonels take 2; earn key series win
May 10, 2017
An 8-year-old boy was injured in a Village East parking lot Friday in what authorities say was an accidental shooting.
“It’s sad, it really is, and the investigation is still ongoing,” said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter.
Full details are not yet available, but according to what detectives determined by Saturday, some children were playing in an apartment house parking lot on the 3600 block of Thomas Drive at around 5 p.m. when one of them opened the trunk of his parents’ car after entering the unlocked vehicle.
A child accessed one of two AK-47 rifles that were in the trunk, causing a round to discharge, striking the boy in the leg. The identity of the boy has not been released.
New Orleans, where his wound was determined to be non-life threatening.
Deputies, Village East Fire Department personnel and two Acadian Ambulance units rushed to the scene, where a small crowd gathered as witnesses were interviewed. The boy was transported to Terrebonne General Medical Center and then to University Hospital in New Orleans, where the wound was determined to be not life threatening.
Larpenter said it is too soon to determine whether any criminal charges will be filed in connection with the incident, although the child who caused the rifle to fire is not being classified as a criminal suspect at this time.
There is no law in Louisiana that prohibits weapons from being kept in automobiles, even if left unlocked.
Laws that elevate forgetfulness or disregard for safety to a criminal offense could be passed at the state level. But local lawmakers either will not support such legislation, or even if they might support it see little to no chance of passage.
In the absence of any law barring how weapons are kept, local officials say gun owners should use common sense and not add to the potential for tragedy by not keeping guns properly secured.
“Anytime you have a weapon you want to make sure it is secured and you shouldn’t leave weapons in an automobile,” Larpenter said. “People can pop a lock on a trunk, a lock is only going to stop an honest person. Kids are curious. I recommend that anyone with young kids hide them. Kids are curious and they can try to find weapons to show off to friends, and that’s when you get an accident. Use a trigger-lock, or keep weapons at a high spot kids can’t reach or a safe.”
An 8-year-old boy is wheeled to a waiting ambulance by Acadian personnel on Thomas Drive in the Village East neighborhood of Houma Friday.
