The Blog of Harald

The story gets worse.

The senseless tragedy only got more puzzling as Peel Region police revealed it wasn’t the first time the children had played with the “readily accessible” .45-calibre semi-automatic gun in the bedroom shared by Michael and his big brother in the family’s Mississauga townhouse.

Police also revealed that the gun is a Spanish-made Star Firestar 45, a cut-rate version of a military weapon that isn’t popular with gangs because it is relatively heavy and hard to conceal. Investigators are tracing the gun’s past.

I don’t understand. Why would someone in Mississauga need a .45? Why would they leave it loaded, in a bedroom where a six-year-old lives and plays?

This morning on the CBC there were interviews with parents and police officers who work to impress children with the dangers of real guns. The anecdotal evidence is that children do understand the difference between real guns and “playing cops and robbers”. Yet at the same time, we have this shooting (and the regular stream of them from our friends to the south).

I’m still trying to figure out how do deal with the whole “playing guns” issue with my kids. Whee.

Source: canada.com