HOUSTON — It’s the second time in just four days that a kid was killed playing with a gun.
This time, a 13-year-old was shot and killed while his group of friends were passing around a gun.
“Gabe, man, he was funny. We always mess around. Everybody play fight around here, everybody got along with each other," Israel Amador said.
Playing around, that’s what Israel Amador said his friends were doing when it happened.
“He didn’t deserve to die like this, but that’s just how life goes," Amador said.
In the back yard of this house, it happened inside a makeshift apartment.
“While they were back there, one of the juveniles had a gun. And right now, from what we’ve been told, it accidentally went off and struck one of the juveniles, and that juvenile passed away on the way to the hospital," Sgt. William Dunn with Houston Police said.
Police said one teen pulled out a gun to show his friends, when it went off, striking the teenager in the head.
“It's just a tragedy you know. Juveniles shouldn’t be playing with guns or shouldn’t be handling guns," Dunn said.
That very tragedy has struck twice this week.
Police said a 9-year-old was killed on Wednesday when he was accidentally shot by a cousin the same age.
“Kids don’t have a clear concept of death and the destructive nature of a gun. Developmentally, they’re not there yet," KHOU 11 Mental Health and Wellness expert Bill Prasad said. "That’s why the responsibility is on adults.
Prasad said at the very least, lock your gun and store it away from any ammunition. But don’t stop there.
“You lock it up, but then you look for teaching moments," Prasad said. "Teaching moments are important, and every parent should know when is a good moment to teach a youngster about a gun, and that’s a parent’s decision."
One of those teaching moments he said, could mean actually letting your child witness the power of the weapon themselves.
“Ten years of age, taking a young person to a gun range would be a good idea to show them what a gun is about and to clearly show them that a gun is not a toy," Prasad said.
Prasad said just having your child hear the gun go off or seeing the damage it does to the target might be enough for them to have more respect for such a dangerous weapon.
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