Boston teen unintentionally shoots and kills 9-year-old brother

9-year-old Janmarco Pena, of Boston, Massachusetts, was home sick on Friday.  His 14-year-old brother was home as well.  According to police, the older boy was "handling a firearm recklessly when it discharged, striking his younger brother."

Janmarco was shot in the chest. When police arrived on the scene they found he had died of his injuries.  Boston police commissioner stated, "Our hearts are broken for everyone involved here. I was here when they wheeled the boy out; it breaks your heart to see a young kid like that,  a curly-haired kid, be wheeled by with a gunshot wound to the chest.  It is just a terrible, terrible incident for the family involved."

Police have charged the 14-year-old with involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. The evidence does not suggest that any other person in the home knew the boy possessed the gun. Police have not said where the boy got the gun.

In response to the shooting, Boston Mayor Mary Walsh announced plans for a gun buyback program.  "We've done gun buyback programs in the past that have been successful but we've got to try something a little different.  National gun reform is important.  Most of these guns are coming from out-of-state, states that don't have tough gun laws."

College campus police officer unintentionally shoots himself in the foot

55-year-old Deputy Chief Keith Hough is a campus police officer at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Thursday morning he was taking part in a live-fire police training exercise inside a mobile firing range parked next to the Holden Police Department.
As Hough went to put his gun back in his holster, he unintentionally discharged the weapon.
Hough was shot in the right foot. He was taken to the local hospital where he is listed in good condition.

Security guard unintentionally shoots friend during a game of "quick draw"

24-year-old Daniel Grenon, of Webster, Massachusetts, and 24-year-old Ryan Aldridge wanted to see which weapon could be drawn faster - a knife or a gun. So the two decided to play a game of "quick draw."
During the contest Grenon pulled out a handgun and unintentionally shot Aldridge in the lower abdomen.
Grenon told police he thought the gun was unloaded.
Aldridge was taken to the hospital and is listed in serious condition after surgery on his abdomen to remove bullet fragments.
Grenon was arrested and charged with assault and batter and improper storage of ammunition and a firearm. He has had his license to carry a concealed weapon revoked and had to surrender his firearms.
Grenon is employed as a security guard at Securitas Security Services in Boston. He has been suspended indefinitely. "He's on administrative leave pending adjudication of the case in the court system," said a company spokesperson. "He is not employed as an armed guard," the spokesperson added.

17-year-old unintentionally shot and killed by older brother who had recently bought a gun

17-year-old David Wade was in the basement of his Stoughton, Massachusetts home with his 21-year-old brother. Just a few weeks earlier, his brother had gotten his gun license and purchased a .40-caliber handgun (Massachusetts is one of only eleven states that require a license or permit before an individual can purchase a handgun).
According to reports, David was unintentionally shot in the chest by his brother shortly before 3:27 pm.m Saturday.
David's mother and brother tried to help him before emergency responders arrived. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Police are still investigating the incident.

2 charged with murder when their gunfight kills innocent bystander

20-year-old Jason Denison and 20-year-old Jonathan Flores, both of New Bedford, Massachusetts, have been charged with murder in connection with a gun battle last month that fatally injured an innocent bystander.
The incident began when a crowd gathered to watch a prearranged fistfight between two women. An argument broke out between Denison and Flores and another man. Reports indicate that Denison chased the two men and shot at them with a handgun. Flores fired back. The bullet missed Denison but did strike bystander 20-year-old Michael Pina. Pina was shot in the head and died four days later.
Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter said that a 2001 state appeals court case makes it clear that Denison and Flores "can and should be charged with murder."
The case, Commonwealth vs. Santiago, said a defendant who engages in a gun battle where a bystander is killed can be held liable for homicide even if the defendant's opponent fired the fatal shot. The ruling stated: "By choosing to engage in a shootout, a defendant may be the cause of a shooting by either side because the death of a bystander is a natural result of a shootout, and the shootout could not occur without participation from both sides."
Denison has also been charged with armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and obstruction of justice. Flores has also been charged with possession of a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearms and possession of a firearm without an FID card.
Ohh shoot.

Woman walking her dogs in the woods shot when hunter thought dog was a deer

66-year-old Cheryl Blair, of Norton, Massachusetts was walking her two dogs on a wooded trail behind her four-acre property when she was shot by a local hunter who mistook her dog for a deer.
In the 911 call released by Norton police 50-year-old John Bergeron, Cheryl's neighbor who is also a state trooper, is heard telling the dispatcher "She's out here with two golden retrievers. I just had a deer come by and I thought it came by again."
Bergeron was hunting in the closing minutes of hunting season. He called 911 at 4:55 p.m. Under state law, hunting is permitted for 30 minutes after sunset, which was at 4:24 p.m. that day.
Cheryl's family report that she will have a permanent limp from the fragmented bullet in her fractured pelvis. She remains in the hospital in stable condition.
No charges have been filed against Bergeron. Police have called the incident an accident and say Bergeron is a licensed hunter and no laws or hunting license violations occurred.
Cheryl's husband said hunters need to be careful about their target before shooting.
Ohh shoot.

Toy fund in memory of boy killed at machine gun shoot makes 2nd annual donation

In October 2008, 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj went with his father and older brother to a Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo held at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in Massachusetts. While firing a fully automatic 9mm micro-Uzi submachine gun Christopher lost control of the weapon. The gun recoiled and he was shot in the head. Christopher was taken to Baystate Children's Hospital where he died of his injuries.
Last year Christopher's aunt, Lisa Wargo, helped found the Christopher Bizilj Memorial Fund. The Fund collects toys which are then donated to the children who are patients at Baystate hospital.
"Baystate Children's Hospital was so good to us at that tragic time," said Wargo. "The goal of this memorial fund is to provide toys for its patients and to help continue the hospital's bereavement box program to help parents deal with their loss."

The Fund has just completed their 2nd annual toy drive and will soon be delivering toys to Baystate hospital. The family hopes that one benefit of the memorial fund will be to associate Christopher's memory with something positive instead of the tragic way he died.

Concealed weapons permit holder unintentionally shoots himself in parking lot at Patriots game

An unidentified 50-year-old man was on his way into a Patriots game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts when he read on the back of his ticket that firearms are not allowed inside the stadium. The man is a Massachusetts resident and holds a valid permit to carry a loaded, hidden gun in public. At the time he was carrying a handgun. He returned to his car to leave the gun there.
While sitting in his car attempting to unload the gun he unintentionally discharged the weapon, shooting himself in the leg. The bullet went through his leg near the knee. The man was taken to the local hospital where he was listed in stable condition. Police secured the gun.
While firearms are not allowed in the stadium there is no official rule against having them in the parking lot. According to a spokesman for the Patriots, "There is not a security checkpoint that would prohibit that from being in your vehicle, and we don't have anything written up in terms of what is allowed or what isn't allowed in the parking lot."
Foxborough police would not confirm or deny whether alcohol was involved in the incident.
Ohh shoot.

Stray bullets fly into homes: one incident in Massachusetts, one in Alabama

18-year-old Wayne Moore of Mobile, Alabama was lying in bed New Year's Eve, watching television when he heard a loud pop and found himself covered in shards of glass. A bullet had just come flying through his window. Fortunately, Wayne was not injured. Police believe the bullet came from the gun of someone shooting in the air to celebrate the New Year.
Mobile is plagued by residents who continue to shoot guns in the air on New Year's, even though police issue reminders that falling bullets can be deadly. Last year a 7-year-old Mobile girl was struck in the leg by a stray bullet from such gunfire.
Meanwhile, in Lynn, Massachusetts, 55-year-old Cheryl Marino was getting ready for work New Year's Day when a bullet came through her window and hit her in the chest. Police said that prior to the shooting there had been some sort of disturbance outside Cheryl's house, but she was not involved in the incident. Cheryl was taken to a nearby hospital where she is expected to survive.
"I was shaking because this could happen to anybody," commented one of her neighbors.
Ohh shoot.

Father's videotape of son's unintentional shooting death key evidence in upcoming trial

As jury selection is set to begin in the trial of Edward Flery, charged with manslaughter in the unintentional shooting death of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj, prosecutors and defense attorneys are fighting over a horrific piece of evidence: a videotape of the shooting taken by the boy's father.
Dr. Charles Bizilj took his two sons to a machine gun shoot at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in October of 2008. 8-year-old Christopher was firing a 9mm micro-Uzi submachine gun, in fully automatic mode, when he lost control of the gun. The gun recoiled and Christopher was shot in the head.
Flery's lawyers have asked the judge to keep the videotape out of the trial saying the video is graphic and gruesome and is likely to elicit an emotional reaction from jurors and preduice them against their client.
The prosecution want the videotape shown because it depicts the gun in operation and could help the jury make a determination as to whether or not allowing such a young boy to fire an Uzi was a reckless thing to do.
Ohh shoot.

Trail begins in boy's death at Massachusetts machine gun shoot

In October, 2008 the Westfield Sportsman's Club held a machine gun shoot that was billed as "Cocked, Locked, and Ready to Rock." Children under 16 were admitted for free and there was no age limit required to shoot a machine gun.
A tragedy occurred when 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj unintentionally shot himself in the head. The boy was allowed to shoot a fully automatic Uzi machine gun and according to the police statement "the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head, where he suffered the injury." Christopher died at the local hospital.
The average 8-year-old stands just a little over four feet tall and weighs a scant 55 pounds. Even with two hands such a child would not have enough strength to control the recoil of an Uzi.
Watch this YouTube video taken at the same event by another father who also brought his son to shoot machine guns.
The former police chief from Pelham, Massachusetts owned the company that co-sponsored the Westfield event. He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor. He pleaded not guilty. Jury selection begins this week.
Ohh shoot.

Thinking there was a burglar, man shoots girlfriend who had gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom

56-year-old Larry Trammell of Brockton, Massachusetts keeps a loaded .38-caliber handgun next to his bed. Early Thursday morning he woke up to a noise he thought was a burglar. Trammell grabbed his handgun, got out of bed and confronted the person just inside the bathroom. According to police reports he "yelled and shot the person one time from approximately two to three feet away."
The person he shot was his 66-year-old girlfriend who had gotten out of bed to use the bathroom. She suffered a single gunshot wound to the torso and was taken to Boston Medical Center where she is listed in critical but stable condition.
Trammell told police he did not look to see if his girlfriend was in bed before he grabbed the gun. Trammell did not have a license for the weapon and was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful carrying of a firearm, and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

NOTE: Massachusetts in one of only four states that requires a license to purchase and possess a firearm. The other states are Hawaii, Illinois, and New Jersey. In addition, seven other states require a license to purchase and possess a handgun: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. Thirty-nine states have NO licensing requirements for purchasing and possessing firearms.
Ohh shoot.

Mother charged with manslaughter, reckless endangerment of a child, in death of son

At first Lakeisha G. told police that three armed men burst into her apartment and fired the shot that killed her 8-year-old son, Liquarry. But the next day she admitted that Liquarry's 7-year-old cousin unintentionally shot him.
Lakeisha now faces manslaughter charges in the death of her son because prosecutors say "she allowed her 15-year-old son, Jayquan, to keep the loaded handgun that killed the boy in a dresser within easy reach of a child." This "led predictably to the resulting tragic - and entirely preventable - death of her son."
Jayquan has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is currently serving time in a youth detention center where he will stay until he is 21.
Ohh shoot.