What do you do after killing your kid at the gun range? (2 Viewers)

[DrStrange]

What is one of the first things to do after killing your kid at the gun range? You set up a go-fund-me account to raise money to pay for the funeral and "other expenses". I can't even begin to wrap my head around that. When my teenage son was killed, I was a broken wreck for at least a week and I had no hand in his death. Opening a go-fund-me account less than 24 hours after the death is really hard for me to swallow. Oh and not only did they open the account, but all the wire service stories carry links to the go-fund-me account. What kind of people are these?

Dad and three kids (24, 14, 12) are having a fun time playing with their guns at the local range. Daddy popped a fresh hot shell casing down the neck of his shirt and while groping to get it out he pulled the trigger on the pistol and bounced a fatal round into the 14 year old. Now the kid was standing behind the shooters, in what normally was a "safe" area, but daddy was pointing the gun behind him trying to reach down his shirt and well, things didn't work out so well for the young man. Daddy was well trained and clearly knew better gun safety than displayed that fateful day, but in the stress of the moment all that training proved ineffective. No doubt there are going to be a lifetime supply of "what ifs?".

Shooting sports aren't normally available to people of exceptionally limited means. This family was able to afford some number of firearms, pay for all the training and visit the gun range several times a month. But money is so short that they start soliciting donations before the corpse is totally cold? Who starts trying to profit off their dead son the day after they shoot him dead?

Call me disgusted -=- DrStrange

 

[12thMan]

I'm not sure I get it either but one sentence stands out much more to me than all the others.... Sorry for your loss bud.

 

[Toby]

Your loss must've been incredibly tough to bear. Sorry you hear about that, doc.

I'm reminded of the Shannon Matthews case in the UK, where they faked the daughter's abduction with a view to profit off newspaper rewards. Reading back on that, the sentencing seems light.

I'm guessing it was inspired by the Maddie McCann case, which is very high profile and raised over £2M. Someone attached to that is alleged to have defrauded the McCanns out of £100k to fund their "lavish lifestyle", money that was promised would be used to help find their daughter.

It is truly staggering what folk are prepared to do in order to turn a profit.

 

[BNM]

Dr, very sorry to hear you experienced the loss of your own child.

 

[DJ Mack]

Sorry to hear about your particular circumstances... I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to go through that.

I agree that it seems like folks are running to GoFundMe at the drop of a hat these days. I have a philosophical and financial objection to that particular outfit because they take 5% off the top and it just seems tacky. Back in the old days folks would open an account at a local bank that could accept donations. Granted you couldn't use credit cards and stuff but you can do that for under 3% using PayPal. The finance guy in me also dislikes GFM and its ilk because money is fungible and while the rules for handling estates (especially of a minor with no assets) aren't terribly complicated proper accounting is a must.

As to the appropriateness of their actions it's really tough to say. People process grief and loss in very different ways and there really is no normal response; just ask anybody in the police or military that has had to make death notifications. One that sticks out to me had the father becoming an absolute basket case lying on the floor in tears. Meanwhile the mother took a big deep breath, calmly walked over to the phone and called the church office and tried to schedule a service with about as much indifference as you and I would show ordering a pizza. From what I understand the roles were completely reversed at the funeral a week later. The father was very much the guy in charge while the mother was inconsolable.

In highly unusual situations like this sometimes people do things that aren't exactly socially acceptable or not time appropriate in an attempt to regain some control over a situation in which they simply have none. Do funeral expenses need to be raised? Perhaps. Do they need to be raised right now? No, a few days won't make a difference.

 

[pltrgyst]

This took place in a nearby shooting facility in a strip mall -- seven lanes, handguns and .22LR only, new and ultra-safe. Supposedly. Nobody expected brass to eject, bounce off the lane wall, and go into the shooter's shirt.

And in the irony department, the local paper's online edition of this story is displayed with an ad for the upcoming Palmetto Gun Show...

 

[Whiteside]

From Fox6Now.

“The gun didn’t kill my boy. I did,” he told CNN.

“Every round in the gun is your responsibility. When it fires you need to stand to account for it it. That’s what I’ve spent the last two days doing, accounting for my operating error.”

A strange choice of words.

 

[mummel]

No parent should ever have to bury a child. Im really sorry for your loss.

 

[Jeff]

I hope there's nothing weird going on here, but hopefully there's video to corroborate the story about an accident. To add to drstranges point about grieving and the GFM account, I'm surprised he's together enough to be speaking with anyone, much less the media. But to each his own path.

 

[pltrgyst]

I hope there's nothing weird going on here, but hopefully there's video to corroborate the story about an accident.

There's nothing in doubt here. The 24-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son were right there in the lane and witnessed the event.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Sorry for your loss, Doc.

On the subject - these days, I expect that even if a fund raiser does not occur to the victims of a tragedy, many others will suggest it to them in callously short order, and offer to do it on their behalf.

 

[SixSpeedFury]

Buy more guns, of course.

 

[CraigT78]

I haven't trusted these GFMe pages that pop up after any high profile accident. Seems it would be too easy to see a story like this on the news, create a fake email address and start up a fake page. Maybe I am just paranoid.

 

[Chicken Rob]

Doc, sorry about the loss of your own child. That must be horrible.

As for the shooting accident, I'm not so sure how well trained this guy is. I once caught a hot shell on my mouth. Stuck to my lips. I managed to put the gun down safely before attending to the searing pain on my lips. I have only very basic safety training. It's a terrible accident for sure.