Photo of the PA boy killed by dad's gun.
Pennsylvania state police say Craig Allen Loudrey, 7, was killed outside a gun store when his dad’s gun went off while the boy was buckling himself into a booster seat in his father’s truck. Police say the shot PA boy was instantly killed.
The shooting happened at Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township, approximately 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The boy’s father, 44-year-old Joseph V. Loughrey, claims to not have known a bullet was still in the gun’s chamber. According to police reports, the bullet went through the 7-year-old boy’s chest in the backseat.
Police Lt. Eric Hermick said the events happened like so: the father secured a rifle in the back of the truck and then placed a 9 mm pistol on the truck’s console, causing the handgun to fire. The father had been trying to sell the guns to the gun store.
“This happens all too often where people think the gun was empty,” said Hermick.
Police say that the father was cooperative and distraught, and the father could face such charges of manslaughter and negligence for causing the death of the shot PA boy. As of now, though, no charges have been pressed. Most likely, the incident will be investigated as an accidental shooting.
“I know that little kid was everything to him,” said Mark McLaughlin, a friend and co-worker of father Loughrey.
With Christmas so close around the corner, one can imagine the pain this father is feeling due to the sudden loss of his son. Moreover, the pain must be tremendous knowing that he, the father, is responsible for the shot PA boy’s death.
Gun safety should always be a priority, especially when guns are within the presence of children. This incident is just another example of a gun owner not taking the proper steps to ensure no harm comes to those around the owner.