Girl mistakes gun for Wii controller - kills herself

[castlezelda]

Reports show some nimrod dad left a fully-loaded hand gun on a coffee table for his 3 yr old to reach at and thought it was a wii gun controller and the kid shot herself. Can we say you dad are a major asshole, and stupid.

Fatal shot to abdomen

Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan, a Tennessee girl, aged 3, accidentally killed herself on Sunday night, according to local police in Wilson County. The incident allegedly occurred after she mistook a gun for a Wii controller.
Investigators claim that the girl's stepfather, Douglas Cronberger, had left a semi-automatic weapon on the living room table, and that the child had mistaken it for a Nintendo Wii controller. The child is then said to have fatally shot herself in the abdomen. She was rushed to hospital, but pronounced dead the same night.

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Pictured: Genuine gun on top, compared to Wii peripheral on bottom

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The stepfather claims he was asleep at the time of the incident, according to authorities. The stepfather also claims the child's mother, Tina Ann Cronberger, was in the room with the child at the time of the incident.
The mother has told authorities the girl might have thought she was playing with a Nintendo Wii controller that resembled a gun. According to the stepfather, the gun was out because he had heard a prowler and gotten the gun out earlier that evening. He then left the gun on the table in the living room. The gun is apparently a .380 caliber semi automatic handgun.
The child had been playing a Wii game. The game’s controller, according to authorities, was shaped like a gun that looked very similar to the real handgun. The authorities claim the girl "pulled the gun off the table and it went off."


No charges have been filed in the case.


We advise parents concerned about their child's safety regarding Wii hardware to consult Nintendo's Wii safety page.

UPDATE: Extra details from local news outlets.


FURTHER UPDATE: Extra details from additional news source


FURTHER UPDATE: Thanks to reader "mine", who alerted us to the image that appears above


FURTHER UPDATE: Names incorporated into the article, as they have now been released.



Associated screenshots.

 

[Moi]

Okay, that stepfather wouldn't have been asleep if he really heard a prowler, and even if he did, you don't put it in reach of a child he's even trying to talk his way out of this by trying tu put it on the mom by saying she was in the room, idiot of a guy and I think now we're going to hear a lot of protest about the wii gun accesories (

 

[redneck E]

The list of people that shouldn't own guns gets bigger...

 

[akubokawii]

what the hell? te guys an idiot, i wouldnt leta 3 year old use a gun shaped anything, even if it was for a wii game.

 

[V.3]

WTF?!?! i'm pretty sure that they cannot legally sell anything that is THAT similar to a gun. thats ridiculous.

 

[rukus]

WTF?!?! i'm pretty sure that they cannot legally sell anything that is THAT similar to a gun. thats ridiculous.

and I'm pretty sure you're an idiot for thinking that.

 

[Bebel130]

i'VE NEVER HEARD OF A BIGGER JACKASS than him in my life. im just dumbfounded that a man would be that stupid to leave a .380 caliber handgun on a kitchen table!

 

[her01771]

*giggles unhumorusly*

wat a big dumbass....

 

[V.3]

WTF?!?! i'm pretty sure that they cannot legally sell anything that is THAT similar to a gun. thats ridiculous.

and I'm pretty sure you're an idiot for thinking that.

ever wonder why you never see them selling them in stores?! they cant legally sell them if they closely resemble a real gun. thats why they sell them in weird colors like white and orange. unless there like at a flee market or something

 

[bencrawfor]

that poor kid. Parents are not responsible enough. I hope this will never happen again