15-Year-Old Girl Shot By Step-Father After He Mistook Her For Late-Night Intruder

CLAY, ALABAMA — A teenage girl is in the hospital after her step-father shot her, thinking that she was an intruder early Sunday morning.

Officials say the child was dropped off at the residence early Sunday morning. The parents heard the garage door open and her step-father grabbed a firearm and went to investigate. After the step-father encountered the 15-year-old, he accidentally shot her in the abdomen.

via cbs42.com

The girl is still in the hospital in serious condition.

This incident shows the importance of knowing your target, and the blame lies fully on the step-father. According to the article quoted above, he ‘accidentally’ shot her. Instead, that should always read ‘negligently’, because after all, it was negligence that led to this incident.

Knowing the target is one of the 4 rules of gun safety, and this man obviously wasn’t aware of what was happening that morning. I’m sure he feels awful, but feeling awful doesn’t change the fact that this girl was shot and likely has years of recovery upcoming.

If you’re going to own a gun, own a gun responsibly. If you’re going to go investigate a bump in the night, do so with your brain. Think about the lighting, the position of your firearm, and all things in between.

We can’t control what teenagers will do, but she surely isn’t the first one to sneak home during the night.

Know your target, know what’s going on in your home, and make smart choices. And don’t jump the gun.