NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — A pregnant mother was shot by her four-year-old child in a North Fort Myers home.
The shooting happened last week on Grady Drive in the Suncoast Estates neighborhood. According to Lee County Sheriff’s deputies, the child found the gun in a home they were visiting with their mother. Adults in the home thought the gun was a toy.
This shooting was the first of three accidental shootings in Lee County in the last week.
“I believe in the Second Amendment,” said Mike Trayford. “You should have the right to own a gun, but you have to take responsibility.”
That responsibility is safety. Each of these three accidental shootings was caused by an overlooked safety factor.
“Guns don’t belong in four-year-old’s hands,” said David Lisenbey, a firearms instructor at KMB Firearms Training. “They see a toy gun, they’re not going to know what it weighs. So they hold it and think it’s Call of Duty or Fortnite.”
People in the house told deputies that the gun belongs to someone who stays in the home occasionally. Linsenbey said there’s no reason it should’ve been laying around.
“Keeping it safe is really easy,” said Lisenbey.
A simple little device called a gun lock could’ve stopped each of these shootings from happening. Gun locks are easily found for free and are federally required to be included with all new gun sales.
It only takes a minute to install the lock, which prevents a gun from firing.
“Sixty seconds and that mom could’ve not had been shot,” said Lisenbey.
The other two shootings involved self-inflicted gunshot wounds from two separate people cleaning a gun. One person was shot in the leg and the other in the foot.
“You got to be aware of not only yourself, but everybody that’s around you,” Trayford said.
The best way to be safe is to be educated.
“Learn about them. Train with them. Be safe with them,” said Lisenbey.
Training at KMB Firearms starts at $75 and is filled with information that could help prevent all three of the shootings.
“Definitely, it is worth it,” said Anthony DiMaria.
When you’re not using a gun, do the right thing: lock it out and lock it up.
“Common sense. Common sense is safety,” Lisenbey said.