Two-Year-Old Girl Dead When ‘Responsible Gun Owner’ Leaves Loaded Shotgun At Daycare
James Fuller Stepp is, according to local law enforcement in Henderson County, North Carolina, a “responsible gun owner.” So responsible that he went hunting, came home, and left a loaded shotgun on the kitchen table at his house. One problem with this scenario: His wife runs a daycare out of their home.
Two-year-old Abigail Newman was shot in the neck by Stepp’s still-loaded 20-guage shotgun. Stepp’s wife made a frantic call to 911 Monday morning, telling the operator who answered:
Click here for reuse options!One of the guns was loaded on the table and I didn’t know it. A little girl was shot….READ MORE at LiberalAmerica
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Andrew Bradford
Andrew Bradford is an author, academic, and political activist who lives in Atlanta. He is a Senior Writer for Liberal America and also has his own blog at deepleftfield.info
22 responses to Two-Year-Old Girl Dead When ‘Responsible Gun Owner’ Leaves Loaded Shotgun At Daycare
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whatthe46 October 28th, 2015 at 20:10
PRISON TIME!!!!!
Larry Schmitt October 28th, 2015 at 20:12
The police will call it a “tragic accident.”
whatthe46 October 28th, 2015 at 20:23
it’s not a damn “ACCIDENT.” he put it on the table on purpose. he left it there fully loaded with babies in his home!
tracey marie October 28th, 2015 at 20:12
Murder, pure and simple.
Larry Schmitt October 28th, 2015 at 20:16
Bradford says on LiberalAmerica: the police keep repeating that Stepp is simply “a good guy with a gun,” and that the whole thing is merely “a tragic accident.” What did I tell you? But he has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
whatthe46 October 28th, 2015 at 20:17
“But he has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.” better than nothing, but not enough time in prison.
rg9rts October 29th, 2015 at 02:22
Stay in bed
Guy Lauten October 28th, 2015 at 20:19
There is no way this man can be considered a “responsible owner”. I’d love to know what criteria the local law enforcement use to make that decision. You don’t leave weapons in unsecured places, and you sure as hell don’t let them out of your sight when they have a live round in the chamber. An incompetent owner yes, but no way can you call him a “responsible” owner.
Larry Schmitt October 28th, 2015 at 20:22
And you sure as hell don’t leave them lying around where there are kids.
whatthe46 October 28th, 2015 at 20:25
let alone a whole house full.
Roctuna October 28th, 2015 at 20:22
They’re always responsible, right up until the moment they’re not and somebody dies.
jasperjava October 29th, 2015 at 12:17
And then they’re not “responsible”, because it was an “accident”.
whatthe46 October 28th, 2015 at 20:29
i can’t stress this enough, DO NOT leave your children with anyone if they have weapons in the house, especially if they are strangers to you and your family. ask the question. if they had asked these “caregivers” if they had guns in the home and the answer is yes, but we’re responsible owners, then you risk your childs safety. wasn’t he a “responsible” owner. don’t leave your children.
Warman1138 October 28th, 2015 at 21:22
There are no words adequate to describe the idiocy of moron James Fuller.
majii October 28th, 2015 at 21:43
I am not understanding why the Henderson County, NC Sheriff’s Dept. is not explaining exactly how this baby got shot. What are they so afraid to reveal? Does Stepp have connections to someone in the county who is a high profile individual? A child is dead, and there should be no reason for anyone in the sheriff’s dept. to be engaging in a cover up.
MyDogsAreSmarterThanYou October 28th, 2015 at 22:11
I hope to God that that little girl’s parents sue this *sshole until he sleeps in a cardboard box and has to walk through town looking for pop cans in trash cans.
rg9rts October 29th, 2015 at 02:20
The new NRA poster child?? This is so sad ….
allison1050 October 29th, 2015 at 06:50
This baby didn’t vote for this DA or the sheriff so we know before hand that the full weight of the law won’t go into prosecuting this dumbass or his equally dumb wife..we know this because it’s always a “tragic accident”, that’s always the clue and “he’s a good family man” crap.
William October 29th, 2015 at 09:09
For sixteen years I would come home from work. Eject the round from my service weapon while in the driveway. I would enter the house, go straight to my den and unload 3 magazines. Each held 13 rounds. The chamber held one. The plastic “block” the ammunition came in held 40. Ammunition placed in the block, all accounted for. Weapon locked in the safe.
We live in a society that requires childproof caps for aspirin bottles, but simply shrug our shoulders and point to a constitutional amendment as an excuse for the slaughter of babies.
whatthe46 October 29th, 2015 at 13:02
Thank you William.
maggie October 29th, 2015 at 14:54
omg you are so right…..there is this myth of the responsible gun owner I think due to the NRA having carte blanche to do whatever it wants 25,000 laws on the books bureaucracy not monitoring (can’t). everyday there are shootings the NRA is out there with their “mentally ill” label…yes gun lovers are mentally ill….people for whom gun ownership is necessary for work…who are disciplined about having only what they need (for work,protection or hunting) and storing them properly…are just less than you would expect…and there are more untrained gun owners storing their weapons improperly….the NRA thinks the second amendment justifies all the gun violence as “acceptable harm” “acceptable losses”….the gun shop owner in Roseburg after the massacre …man the guy showed no remorse whatsoever “it’s legal” that was his response. What pisses me off about law enforcement is what an efficient job the locals, FBI and politicians did as the “clean up crew” man…clean it up and suppress it….that’s just what they did….the lives of the victims just mean nothing to the state, the gun manufacturers, the gun dealers/shop owners or the politicians who take money from the NRA….the only solutions from the 2nd amendment people are guns in school….absurd….slight change of subject here…out of all the shootings in the news recently did you catch the one about the woman duck hunting shot by her dog when she set her loaded weapon down the dog step on it and it shot her in the foot apparently…the dogs name is Trigger….go figure….the gun manufacturers, the NRA have made owning weapons without training or monitoring as common as dandelions…they have made it a “get them anywhere anytime on demand” operation….that is why we have so much gun violence in this country….;(
thinkingwomanmillstone October 29th, 2015 at 09:42
Today’s daily report on “Your child could die next” tale of responsible gun owners responsible for the deaths of innocents. Every freakin’ day another person, usually a small child, dies so that ammosexuals can make themselves feel adequate with dangerous toys.