Nathan Beaver, Babysitter, Shot By Boy For Stepping On His Foot

JACKSON, Ohio — Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.

Witnesses told police the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was watching the child at a mobile home in Jackson with several other teenagers and several other children.

Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen says authorities are investigating. The child has not been charged.

Comments

[LameDuckHunting]

Exactly how did I know, solely from the headline, that this happened in Ohio?

[ebevis]

My guess would have been Florida.

[marymansour]

Trailor-phelia is always the roughest they say.

[scorpioleidy]

Da * m. ned hill.b.i.llies !

[markinaz]

Dang. It's gettin' rough out there.

[Wood]

That... is ghe-e-to!

[hartkid]

The kid will be charged with poaching. Sitter season doesn't open until March in Ohio.

[cpokeyrun]

There is definitely a fallacy in the "guns for home protection" argument - if your gun is properly stored for having a child in the house (locked up with ammo locked separately), it is no good for home defense...what are you going to say..."um, please Mr. Bad Guy, can you wait just a minute while I go get my gun and ammo unlocked so I can shoot you with it?" I am fine with people owning guns (with reasonable gun control), but really - if you have kids in the house, a gun cannot be effective home defense.

[1will]

There are safes available that can be opened in under a second. You are wrong in your argument about properly stored guns being useless for home protection. Then there is the fact that not everyone has a child in the house and does not need to store a firearm the same way you would with a home full of children.

[whatevahs]

And wher do you keep those safes? in the basement or in closet where you still have to run to it, open it, and then engage an intruder? I'm sure any thug committing a home invasion or in the process of ransacking your house while you sleep will be nice enough to give you a head start.
Tell me, do you think that soldiers out in the field or in combat zones lock their weapons away while they're eating or sleeping? No, they have their weapons loaded and ready and by their side at all times. Now, I'm not saying that people should go around strapped in their own home. What I am saying is that if someone is really keeping a gun in their home for security, it doesn't do them any good in an actual threatening situation unless the firearm is loaded and ready to use.
And I agree that if you have children you need to not only keep the weapon(s) in a safe place, but also educate your children to never, ever touch the firearms. I have three pistols and a shotgun in my home and my children know to never touch them or the ammunition. I grew up in a house with guns and I was educated in the same way and followed those rules. But it is also important to teach children that guns are not toys. That is why we don't allow toy guns in our home.

[hippynanainblingland]

"There are safes available that can be opened in under a second. "

Yeah, and I'm sure they are so inexpensivfe that anyone can afford them!!!!

[Toonadude]

Don't have kids .... no more problem.

[whatevahs]

And the award for the most moronic posting with the least amount of words goes to...
Toonadude!
congrats dude!

[PennLawyer]

Much more likely some of the multiple teenagers present were fooling around with the gun and one of them fired it. Then they wipe their prints off the gun, get the four year old's prints on it, and bob's your uncle - a kid too young to understand what the hell is going on is blamed. Sounds like a great plot line for a Law and Order program.

[CyrusBeaucephus]

If the baby sitter had been armed then it would have deterred the infant from shooting. Clearly the solution is more guns, and more weapons training. The child didn't even hit any vital organs. Mandatory weapons training would have improved his aim

[NewDayDawn]

ROFL ... this four year old should be tried as a adult, be sent to a adult prison without any chance of parole!

[GenXer]

Here, here! Maybe a public spectacle of a jury will scare the other 4 year olds straight.

[JoeSausage]

No, he should be given the Medal of Freedom. Clearly that babysitters unwarranted act of aggression deserved this brave toddler's wrath. Now next Xmas ALL the toddlers are gonna want Baby Uzi and a Baby Rocket Launcher. It's good for the economy!

[bluestatelib]

This was an outrageous act of cold blooded calculated attempted murder. These child predators must be stopped. Even though we have more people incarcerated than any other country, we are still too lenient on violent criminals. Let's throw the book at this kid and maybe then deter other 4 year old perpetrators.

[Highwind]

Please, are you joking!? These are children whose parents don't know how to put the guns away or lock them away or they show them how to use it and the kids take the guns and use them when they get mad. What they see on television also shows them that people use guns to hurt others when they are angry. A four year old would definitely take something like that literally.

[RageCage]

I can't believe the ignorance of some people here implying that this event means we should get rid of all guns for our own safety. This is just a case of a stupid family doing stupid things. I'm willing to bet the percent of stupid drivers is much, much greater than the percent of stupid gun owners.

[Driver125]

Yes, but how could you prove it? A prime-time show on Fox pitting the Drivers against the Gun Owners? Could be good. But in the meantime, let's be glad he did not have access to an assault rifle.

[CyrusBeaucephus]

In the mean time all I can do is eat salty snacks and anxiously count the minutes until this new reality show you are talking about is aired

[adey]

Charge him as an adult.

[Ajita]

Charge his parents for leaving a loaded shotgun around a four-year old.

[LHoney]

A 4-year-old fired a shotgun?? That seems unlikely doesn't it?

[mymic1]

why was a loaded shotgun so accessable to a four year old in the first place?

how do we know it was loaded?

because it would be hard to imagine a four year old getting the weapon and loading it himself and then going back to get his victim.

[hartkid]

I own many types of shotguns and this must have been one burly 4-year old to be able to even pick up, aim, and fire a shotgun. and I agree that it would be almost impossible for the kid was able to load the thing himself.

[LHoney]

I'm thinking maybe one of the other kids did this and blamed it on the 4 year old...

[coastalcarla]

I totally agree. I have several shotguns, and it takes quite a bit of strength to load it and get it ready to fire. There is no way any 4 year old would be strong enough to do that. And if the parents left a fully loaded, ready to fire shotgun sitting in a closet in a house full of kids, then they should be the ones charged with negligence. It should have been locked up.

[BartLA]

Now Johnny, here's how to call 911 in case of emergency. And in case the babysitter gets out of line, even accidentally, here's how to respond appropriately. We'll be at the bar getting trashed so don't bother us.

[onalimb]

Why would they even consider charging a 4-year-old?
He certainly needs help and the parents should be held responsible for not locking up the gun but criminal charges against the child is not the answer.