4 year old shoots herself

[william_wallace 8]

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A 4-year-old girl shot herself in the chest Monday after snatching her grandmother's handgun from the woman's purse while riding in a shopping cart at a Sam's Club store, authorities said.

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A witness, Lueen Homewood, said store workers grabbed first-aid materials off store shelves to help the grandmother as she cradled the wounded child near the store's pharmacy, The (Columbia) State newspaper reported on its Web site.

The girl was rushed to a hospital in critical condition and was recovering Monday afternoon after surgery, said police department spokesman Brick Lewis. Hospital officials would not release her condition after the operation.

Lewis said the grandmother, Donna Hutto Williamson, has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and the purse containing the small-caliber handgun was in the cart near the child. The 47-year-old Williamson, of Salley, was not immediately charged with a crime.

Williamson, a South Carolina magistrate, was distraught after the shooting, her mother-in-law said.

"The grandmother is just beating herself up," said Inease Williamson, 68. "She is just so upset. Everyone is upset."

Officials said the shooting, which was captured on store surveillance cameras, appeared to be accidental. Lewis said police would not release the video.

The store was closed while police investigated the shooting. It reopened Monday afternoon.

"Everyone at Sam's Club is deeply saddened by today's tragedy," Tara Stewart, state spokeswoman for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the little girl and her family."

Concealed weapons permit holders in South Carolina are not allowed to carry weapons into buildings that prohibit it, or into government buildings, schools and daycare facilities, among other places.

The Sam's Club store does not have a sign prohibiting guns inside.

[pedroh 21]

oh damn... that's awful...

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No... Gun toting grandmothers need to be more diligent. She is 100% at fault.

[almaty 19]

sad news.....

[PlatyPius 5]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No, breeding laws should be more strict.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

I have to say... I agree!

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No, breeding laws should be more strict.

[william_wallace 8]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No... Gun toting grandmothers need to be more diligent. She is 100% at fault.

If the gun laws were more strict, the grandmother wouldn't have a gun in her bag in which the child would still be alive.

Guns don't solve the problem in the USA being a safer place.

[o0pink0o 3]

[Niels Bohr 72]

Grandmother with a GUN! Don't mess with granny. I think there should be an age limit on gun permits. I see many old granny aren't as bright compared to when their younger. That's what I see.

[PlatyPius 5]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No... Gun toting grandmothers need to be more diligent. She is 100% at fault.

If the gun laws were more strict, the grandmother wouldn't have a gun in her bag in which the child would still be alive.

Guns don't solve the problem in the USA being a safer place.

And then when grandma gets robbed at the ATM and stabbed, when she could have defended herself with her gun, where's the good side of that?

Guns are inanimate objects. They don't go on murder missions on their own. Guns are not evil. By trying to outlaw guns, you are blaming the gun rather than the person. Because we all know that people are SOOOOO good about Personal Responsibility these days....

[william_wallace 8]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No... Gun toting grandmothers need to be more diligent. She is 100% at fault.

If the gun laws were more strict, the grandmother wouldn't have a gun in her bag in which the child would still be alive.

Guns don't solve the problem in the USA being a safer place.

And then when grandma gets robbed at the ATM and stabbed, when she could have defended herself with her gun, where's the good side of that?

Guns are inanimate objects. They don't go on murder missions on their own. Guns are not evil. By trying to outlaw guns, you are blaming the gun rather than the person. Because we all know that people are SOOOOO good about Personal Responsibility these days....

#######. What a load of ####### that is. Where you getting the idea that guns ain't evil? Thats the problem with America, they make too much money on guns and don't see the problems they have beyond it.

[brnidokiegurl 1]

The gun is not evil any more than the knife, car or any object its the people that are evil. I work at the agency that issues gun permits in Okla. and a BIG majority are elder and yes sometimes when u see them you will say ohhhhh no way to old, but they do have to go to training to get it and i guess to pass the course you will need some understanding and reality. Even with the gun laws the very bad crooks will still have the guns i dont think they are going to stop and say oh i better go get my permit first. Here we have drive by shooting seems like every day lately those involved mostly older teens and into the 20's. I dont know what else could be done, the grandma was thinking of protection when she goes to her car, to the store etc, its a sad situation.

[Ban Hammer 14,880]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No... Gun toting grandmothers need to be more diligent. She is 100% at fault.

If the gun laws were more strict, the grandmother wouldn't have a gun in her bag in which the child would still be alive.

Guns don't solve the problem in the USA being a safer place.

more strict how? is there something constructive you can expand on or is this just a rant?

[william_wallace 8]

The gun is not evil any more than the knife, car or any object its the people that are evil. I work at the agency that issues gun permits in Okla. and a BIG majority are elder and yes sometimes when u see them you will say ohhhhh no way to old, but they do have to go to training to get it and i guess to pass the course you will need some understanding and reality. Even with the gun laws the very bad crooks will still have the guns i dont think they are going to stop and say oh i better go get my permit first. Here we have drive by shooting seems like every day lately those involved mostly older teens and into the 20's. I dont know what else could be done, the grandma was thinking of protection when she goes to her car, to the store etc, its a sad situation.

And how many people are killed each year by guns getting into the wrong hands, intoxicated, angry or depressed?

Among the world's 36 richest nations, The United States has by far the highest rate of gun deaths -- murders, suicides and accidents.

[Bassi and Zainab 1]

The woman was irresponsible with her gun. She should be distraught, it was her fault that the baby shot herself. It's horrible. I don't think outlawing the gun will help the situation at all. She could have been just as irresponsible by leaving a knife on the table and the little girl could have picked it up and stabbed herself. We aren't going to talk about outlawing knives. She wouldn't be babysitting my child, I'll tell you that much.