Double toddler day! Angry 4-year old shot babysitter for stepping on his foot

naisho said:
Not sure if this is actual fact or not, but the newspaper states that the incident occurred at the child's grandmother's mobile home.

Therefore, it would lead to one of the following possibilities:

- The grandmother has a hunting rifle in her house somewhere, doesn't have it locked up due to laziness, reasons you know why.
- The child didn't get the rifle from her house, but back at his parent's place, if that is closeby (states mobile home area)
- The child took the rifle from someone else.
- Their parents live in with the grandmother, but as stated were not around at this time.
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Cops say the enraged youngster ran to a nearby closet, grabbed a gun that was stored inside of it, and fired it at his temporary guardian.

Kind of blows all possibilities except the first one out of the water. (Cut and pasted from the OP.)
 
Why load a rifle and shoot when he could've easily got his G.I Joe and toss it at his babysitter?!

Where's G.I Joe in all of this... right he's gone & replaced with computer games!
 
Daredevel7 said:
Are little kids getting smarter or something?! He actually loaded it!

I feel like a horror movie is about to happen... our children are taking over the world.
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I know! I feel the same too...this is very very disturbing cuz he was mad and wanted to hurt the babysitter. How does a 4 year old have the capability to think like that?? My son is 3 years old and I cant imagine him having this way of thinking....scary!!!
 
shel90 said:
I know! I feel the same too...this is very very disturbing cuz he was mad and wanted to hurt the babysitter. How does a 4 year old have the capability to think like that?? My son is 3 years old and I cant imagine him having this way of thinking....scary!!!
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I don't think he understands the consequence of shooting people. He probably thought it'd be like BB gun with a loud noise. You know how kids are at that age.... they have a "cartoon" sense of reality.

:dunno:
 
From the article --

Authorities have revealed that when the babysitter stepped on his foot, the child boldly announced he was going to go get a gun. Everyone figured he would come back with a toy.

Instead, he found the real thing, even retrieving a shell from a drawer and loading the weapon as he marched back into the room where the others were gathered.
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Wow. The child actually boldly announced he was going to get the gun? Really, That just blows my mind because not many kids at that age would know what to do out of anger and to run off to get the real gun.

Here's what I'm thinking -- Since the father stated that the child did see others shoot a gun but not to the point where the gun is loaded. Someone had to teach the kid how to load the gun one way or another.

That's scary.
 
Daredevel7 said:
Are little kids getting smarter or something?! He actually loaded it!

I feel like a horror movie is about to happen... our children are taking over the world.
Click to expand...

For a kid like him he must've seen people loading their guns alot or another possiblity is that he was trained to do that.

It is quite surprising for so someone so young as the age of 4, has the ablitiy to load the rifle...obviously it tells me he learned that from someone.

Another thing is that his parents/grandmother obviously suck at hiding the gun, should be COMPLETELY OUT OF REACH from children AT ALL TIMES.
 
Steel X said:
For a kid like him he must've seen people loading their guns alot or another possiblity is that he was trained to do that.

It is quite surprising for so someone so young as the age of 4, has the ablitiy to load the rifle...obviously it tells me he learned that from someone.

Another thing is that his parents/grandmother obviously suck at hiding the gun, should be COMPLETELY OUT OF REACH from children AT ALL TIMES.
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His father taught him how to use gun..... maybe
 
Jolie77 said:
From the article --




Wow. The child actually boldly announced he was going to get the gun? Really, That just blows my mind because not many kids at that age would know what to do out of anger and to run off to get the real gun.

Here's what I'm thinking -- Since the father stated that the child did see others shoot a gun but not to the point where the gun is loaded. Someone had to teach the kid how to load the gun one way or another.

That's scary.
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I agree. It is obvious to me that someone taught this child to load the gun, either directly or indirectly. As far as him seeing shooting someone as an answer to being angry....the child learned that somewhere, too. Children learn to react to anger by watching others react to anger. I know from working with children of domestic violence in a counseling situation that they believe beating another person up is a solution when they are angry because they have seen the adults in their lives behaving that way. They have to be taught that hitting is not a solution when you are angry. They also believe that it is acceptable for someone to hit them when the other person is angry because that is what they have seen. They also have to be taught that no one has the right to hit them. They have a right to be angry, but they don't have a right to be violent towards others.

What frightens me, and breaks my heart, is the fact that young children are living in environments that teaches them that violence is an answer. When you see a 4 year old child behaving in such a violent and extreme manner, one does not need to look far to find the reason.
 
jillio said:
I agree. It is obvious to me that someone taught this child to load the gun, either directly or indirectly. As far as him seeing shooting someone as an answer to being angry....the child learned that somewhere, too. Children learn to react to anger by watching others react to anger. I know from working with children of domestic violence in a counseling situation that they believe beating another person up is a solution when they are angry because they have seen the adults in their lives behaving that way. They have to be taught that hitting is not a solution when you are angry. They also believe that it is acceptable for someone to hit them when the other person is angry because that is what they have seen. They also have to be taught that no one has the right to hit them. They have a right to be angry, but they don't have a right to be violent towards others.

What frightens me, and breaks my heart, is the fact that young children are living in environments that teaches them that violence is an answer. When you see a 4 year old child behaving in such a violent and extreme manner, one does not need to look far to find the reason.
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I'd believe you. sounds like father slaps mom around and the child learned from it? :mad2: I have no mercy for wife hitter. :mad2:
 
Jiro said:
I'd believe you. sounds like father slaps mom around and the child learned from it? :mad2: I have no mercy for wife hitter. :mad2:
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Exactly. They see it on a daily basis, and believe it is a normal way of life.
 
jillio said:
I agree. It is obvious to me that someone taught this child to load the gun, either directly or indirectly. As far as him seeing shooting someone as an answer to being angry....the child learned that somewhere, too. Children learn to react to anger by watching others react to anger. I know from working with children of domestic violence in a counseling situation that they believe beating another person up is a solution when they are angry because they have seen the adults in their lives behaving that way. They have to be taught that hitting is not a solution when you are angry. They also believe that it is acceptable for someone to hit them when the other person is angry because that is what they have seen. They also have to be taught that no one has the right to hit them. They have a right to be angry, but they don't have a right to be violent towards others.

What frightens me, and breaks my heart, is the fact that young children are living in environments that teaches them that violence is an answer. When you see a 4 year old child behaving in such a violent and extreme manner, one does not need to look far to find the reason.
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Exactly, Children are absorbing everything in their head like a sponge. I believe there is more to the story than what it is telling because there is no way that this child had to know it off the bat without being taught. Now I have to wonder what was their home environment like? It is possible that there's domestic violence ongoing, or the kid has seen it elsewhere; perhaps under the babysitter's care prior to that incident? We don't know.

It also does break my heart too, to see these children living in that kind of atmosphere where violence occurs. Counseling can help them but just exactly how much will the counseling help? The scar is still there, so to speak.
 
Jolie77 said:
Exactly, Children are absorbing everything in their head like a sponge. I believe there is more to the story than what it is telling because there is no way that this child had to know it off the bat without being taught. Now I have to wonder what was their home environment like? It is possible that there's domestic violence ongoing, or the kid has seen it elsewhere; perhaps under the babysitter's care prior to that incident? We don't know.

It also does break my heart too, to see these children living in that kind of atmosphere where violence occurs. Counseling can help them but just exactly how much will the counseling help? The scar is still there, so to speak.
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The younger they are when they start into counseling, the better chances that it will counteract the effects of the violence they have witnessed. Also, if the family is in counseling to deal with their own issues and correct the negative things the child is being exposed to, it helps. I know in the kids I work with, it seems to be two steps forward, one step back some days.
 
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