A 13-year-old girl was charged with aggravated child abuse and grand theft in the accidental shooting last month of a Clearwater teenager.I have a few problems with this story.
Clearwater police say Taylor Alexa Compton and other juveniles, who were playing with a gun they had stolen, did not know it was loaded when she intended to scare Ryan Greenlee but shot him accidentally on Aug. 2.
The Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun had been stolen from an unlocked vehicle in the 1200 block of Highland Avenue, police said. Detectives said Compton and Justin Tyler Hemphill, 15, were responsible for the armed vehicle burglary as well as other vehicle burglaries.
Compton and Hemphill are charged with armed burglary (vehicle), grand theft of a firearm and dealing in stolen property - all felonies.
Police said the adults in the home had no knowledge of the gun or involvement in the shooting.
1. Aggravated child abuse is the wrong charge when one child harms another. A conviction on a charge like that carries an unfair stigma.
2. Armed vehicle burglary is misleading when applied to taking something out of an unlocked car.
3. The irresponsible gun owner who made the theft of the gun so easy by not even locking the care should be charged with reckless endangerment or failure to safely store a firearm or something.
4. The adults in the home who had no knowledge of what was going on should be charged with negligence. Parental supervision is essential.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
