UPDATE 12-9-12 11:24 A.M. EST
Craig Allen Loughrey was buckling himself into a safety seat at the time he was shot.
AP reports:
A 7-year-old boy had been buckling himself into his safety seat in the back of his father’s truck when he was shot to death after a handgun accidentally went off as his father got in the front seat, police said Sunday.
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In the parking lot of a gun store in western Pennsylvania, a man’s handgun went off while he was holding it as he got into his truck and the shot killed his 7-year-old son, Craig Allen Loughrey.
According to state police, Joseph V. Loughrey, 44, of Sharpsville, was getting into the truck when the 9 mm handgun discharged, wounding the young boy in the chest and Craig died on the scene.
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Huffington Post reports:
Investigators said Loughrey told them he didn’t realize there was a bullet still in the chamber. “This happens all too often where people think the gun was empty,” Lt. Eric Hermick told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Loughrey was trying to sell two guns at the store – one a scope rifle and the other, the handgun, state police said. The owners told Loughrey the store doesn’t buy guns so Loughrey and his son returned to the truck with them. Loughrey put the boy in the passenger seat and loaded the rifle into the truck, state police said. He was attempting to get inside and reached to put the handgun in the center storage console when it fired, they said.
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Loughrey has been questioned by state police who said he was cooperative and distraught. The shooting is being investigated as an accident, although Loughrey could face charges, including manslaughter and negligence, Hermick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
SOURCE: Huffington Post
