Gun safety debated after child shot in Oregon City

PORTLAND, Ore. – The accidental shooting of a 12-year-old boy over the weekend by his friend in Oregon City has people talking about gun safety.

Austin Stokes is in stable condition at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland after being accidentally shot in the head while he and his friend were playing with a shotgun not realizing it was loaded.

While the 13-year-old shooter had a hunting license and went through some form of firearm safety, it is not known what was taught in the home.

Kevin Starett, who has been teaching people how to use and care for guns for more than two decades, says he does not believe in any hard and fast rules about how guns should be stored.

He says each family should consider the ages and maturity levels of their children when they make choices on storing guns and whether they are loaded or unloaded.

“If you keep a gun available for protection, it serves no purpose if it’s unloaded and in your safe,” he said. “If you have a 4-year-old or a 3-year-old, who is now wandering around by himself, you don’t leave a firearm available. Your situation dictates how you handle firearms (and) how you handle storage.”

In this accident, the 13-year-old picked up the loaded shotgun that was left in a corner after a hunting trip with his dad and pointed it at his friend. Even though it was an accident, the boy could still face charges. It will be up to the Clackamas County district attorney's office to determine whether the boy will be charged.

Under Oregon law, negligently wounding or even pointing a gun at someone else is a crime. And according to these statutes, even children 13 years old can be charged.

But according to former Multnomah County Sheriff’s Detective Bruce McCain, who is now a lawyer, Oregon law does not make parents criminally responsible for the acts of their children.

He said even in cases like this where there is a question of a parent’s negligence, parents cannot be charged.

“Civilly, yes, the insurance companies will resolve this behind the scenes, but on the criminal end of it, the shooter himself – the boy – will be held responsible,” McCain said.

Starett says guns aren’t to blame and parents should not be charged for a child’s accident.

“I believe we have sufficient laws to deal with negligent behavior, but I think that for some reason we never address negligence unless a firearm is involved, and I think that’s just a matter of emotion and hysteria,” he said.

The victim’s family, however, could go after the shooter’s parents by filing a lawsuit.
 

Related links:

• 'Great news' reported in condition of local boy shot in head
• Juvenile shot in the head with shotgun
• "Parental Responsibility Chart" for state laws that may apply.