It was most shocking, sad, unfortunate and agonising to have learnt of the death of an eleven-month old baby who was accidentally shot by her five-year old sibling with an unlicensed gun.

So there it is a young innocent child, barely out of the cradle, has her life snuffed out in a most senseless manner as a result of the, callousness, carelessness and irresponsibility of adults who should face the full force of the law.

Those who are faith believers may attribute this destruction of human life as the way God chose for the child, but whether that is so or not it cannot erase the fact that this tragedy was preventable and in this stance total blame lies at the feet of the parents/guardians.

It is unimaginable that parents would leave a dangerous weapon like a gun in the vicinity of children and such small ones at that and in this case it was an unlicensed weapon. It is also unthinkable that parents would leave two siblings who are so young by themselves.

This is not the first time in this country where a child has been killed under similar circumstances. Only a couple of weeks ago a teenager killed herself using her father’s gun and a many months earlier another child shot his sibling with his father’s gun while playing with it.

And there have been so many fires which were caused by children who were left unsupervised by an adult or adults.

But all these tragic events tell us that something is radically wrong with our quality parenting and the irresponsible attitude of parents. We, therefore as a nation need to review the situation with respect to parenting skills and implement remedial action to correct this unhealthy development with some degree of urgency.

In the past, Guyana never really had such problems because parents of yester- year, even though many did not have much schooling were very responsible and paid utmost attention to the safety and well being of their children. Also guns were not so readily available as they are today, whether licensed or unlicensed ones.

With respect to the latter the police have to revisit this whole question of issuing gun licences as well take a more proactive approach to the elimination of unlicensed weapons. And when licences are issued every effort should be made to ensure that the licencee is properly trained in the use of firearms and well versed in safety and precaution measures which he/she must adhere to at all times. In fact, a useful thing to implement might be the issuing of a booklet with the “dos and don’ts” of firearms which includes their safe storage and having them out of the reach of children etc.

Many people justifiably so acquire firearms to help protect themselves from criminals, but equally many do so with criminal intentions or a matter of prestige or status symbol and therefore the reality today is that far more people are in possession of firearms compared to a decade or two ago, consequently the probability of gun related accidental deaths is higher.

This is a growing problem in many countries of the world with the US having the greatest challenge.

In one survey in the US, 10% of families admitted to having unlocked and loaded firearms within easy reach of children (Patterson and Smith, 1987). Another study showed that two-thirds of accidental firearms injuries occurred in the home, and one-third involved children under 15. 45% were self-inflicted, and 16% occurred when children were playing with guns. (Morrow and Hudson, 1986) A study from 1991-2000 showed that twice as many people died from unintentional firearm injuries in states in the U.S. where firearm owners were more likely to store their firearms loaded. (Miller, et al, 2005) (Tutorial Firearms website)

(Hepburn et al, 2006) A study of non-natural deaths in a large American city revealed that half of such deaths in persons from 10 to 19 years of age were due to homicide, and firearms were involved in 88% of them. (Heninger and Hanzlick, 2008)

The number of firearms injuries remains high in the United States, compared with most of the rest of the world. Firearm suicide rates are strongly impacted by the rate of gun ownership. (Kaplan and Geling, 1998) There is a positive correlation between homicide rates and availability of guns in developed nations. (Hemenway and Miller, 2000) The number of firearms in the hands of private citizens continues to grow each year at a rate far exceeding that of the population as a whole. It might even be said that Americans live in a “gun culture” based upon traditions and behaviors well-entrenched in our society.

In one survey, 10% of families admitted to having unlocked and loaded firearms within easy reach of children (Patterson and Smith, 1987). Another study showed that two-thirds of accidental firearms injuries occurred in the home, and one-third involved children under 15. 45% were self-inflicted, and 16% occurred when children were playing with guns. (Morrow and Hudson, 1986) A study from 1991-2000 showed that twice as many people died from unintentional firearm injuries in states in the U.S. where firearm owners were more likely to store their firearms loaded. (Miller, et al, 2005) (Tutorial Firearms website)

The problem has risen to such proportions in our country but recent incidents give an indication that it could become a “monster” if do not nip it in the bud.