Every year, nearly 3000 children and teens die from gunfire, and nearly 14,000 are injured.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

8-year old boy injured when felon father shows off gun

An 8-year old boy in Polk County, Oregon, was shot in the shoulder when his father was showing off his .38-caliber revolver.  The father and mother then lied about how the boy got shot when police asked, and even coached the boy's younger siblings to lie about it.  No surprise, the man was a felon, and other guns were found in the house as well.

From the article:
Deputies were initially told the boy was playing on the family's land and came inside with a gunshot wound, Isham said. The home, located in the 21300 block of Gage Road in Monmouth, sits on about 25 heavily wooded acres, and deputies wondered if a reckless hunter was to blame.

"Originally we thought there was a stray bullet or someone shot at him," Isham said.

But as deputies began to talk to others who were at the home, Isham said, the stories "didn't stay straight."

"Things just weren't adding up," he said.

Investigators now believe the boy was accidentally shot by his stepfather, Steven Hanna, 33, as Hanna showed off the handgun.

Hanna, who is also known as Ricardo Ontiveros, was arrested Monday and booked in the Polk County Jail on charges of reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and a witness, being a felon in possession of a firearm and felony assault.

Deputies also found several other firearms at the home, Isham said.

Today, deputies arrested the boy's mother, 34-year-old Michal Hanna, on charges of tampering with a witness, and a friend, 23-year-old Chesley Libby, on charges of interfering with a peace officer. Both were cited and released.

The tampering charges stem from Steven and Michal Hanna's alleged attempts to coach the 8-year-old's three siblings, Isham said -- deputies believe the couple told the kids what to say to investigators. All three were home at the time of the shooting.

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