Five-Year-Old Irvington Girl Fires Rifle Inside Mobile Home

Alabama Mobile County Sheriffs Office The bullet went through several walls and into a neighbor's trailer.

by Jamie Burch

Published: Fri, May 22, 2009 - 4:31 pm CST Last Updated: Fri, May 22, 2009 - 5:24 pm CST

6:24 p.m.
- Bullet came into the neighbor's trailer, ricocheted off a can of Lysol and nearly hit the neighbor's 18-month-old son.
- No arrests made.
- The Sheriff's Office did take the rifle.

5:31 p.m.
The Mobile County Sheriff's Office and detectives from the Child Advocacy Center are trying to figure out how a five-year-old Irvington girl got her hands on a rifle.

Chris McClean with the Sheriff's Office tells News 5 the little girl fired the gun inside her mobile home on Elon Street. The bullet went through several walls and into a neighbor's trailer. The neighbors were home, but fortunately no one was hit.

News 5 has a crew on the scene and will pass along more information as soon as we get it.

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Fox Says:

Fri, May 22, 2009 at 7:28 pm

This should be obvious, but allow me to restate it:

In any house with loaded weapons (and children) weapons must be guarded/secured against children’s access.

The first step is to constantly be aware/alert that these type incidents do happen, and take action to prevent it.

Handguns: probably best kept on your body.

Long guns: use the safety and don’t chamber a round. Optionally (if magazine fed) remove it.

In either case (and if quick access isn’t a concern) you can also use a trigger lock: often times they are free from many police departments.

Once again: always keep a close eye on your weapons and children. If that is not possible, you must unload and/or physically lock the weapons away. Or lock the children away, your choice.

Finally, once the child is old enough, allow them/ TEACH them in their safe/ fun use; this will help eliminate their natural curiosity factor.