c/news · by Valnao@sh.itjust.works · 198d

4-year-old accidentally shoots himself in Burger King parking lot

https://www.wcax.com/2026/02/19/4-year-old-accidentally-shoots-himself-burger-king-parking-lot/

205 points · 53 comments · view on lemmy.world

53 Comments

DigDoug@lemmy.world · 113 pts · 198d (3 replies)

If only there was a good 4-year-old with a gun to stop him.

thlibos@thelemmy.club · 29 pts · 198d

Ooh ooh, me next..."Guns don't kill 4 year olds, 4-year olds do!"

ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 198d (1 reply)

If Ronald McDonald had a gun, he could have saved the kid, but McDonalds quietly phased him out after the clowns wandering around neighborhoods thing.

NannerBanner@literature.cafe · 10 pts · 198d

I once met the ronald mcdonald. He had done it for almost two decades, and was, according to him, the only one that would go around and be introduced as ronald mcdonald (he was apparently listed as a vp in the company, for reasons, but was obviously paid peanuts) in official mcdonald's promotions. If I remember, he also did some of the voices for the astroworld batman show.

Anyway. The reason that's relevant? I met him because he was retired from the mcdonald thing and getting his police officer training, so... ronald mcdonald is probably out there now with a gun.

homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 85 pts · 198d (8 replies)

The child’s mother said she and her son stopped at Burger King to get breakfast when she learned that her dog had been run over and killed. She said that in her grief, she did not notice that her son had grabbed a Glock from the truck’s glove compartment.

The woman said the child pointed the gun at her and fired, hitting his own index finger.

Officers responded to the Burger King in Dacula, Georgia, where they found the child. He was taken to a children’s hospital for treatment.

Gun safety expert Tim Downing said there are a few things parents should remember to prevent accidental shootings.

Well i feel bad for the dog.

grue@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 198d (3 replies)

WTF was the dog doing running around loose to begin with?

WTF was the kid doing in the front seat (which is illegal in Georgia, except when the back seat doesn't exist or something like that) to begin with?

There are so many kinds of negligence going on here even before you start considering the gun!

(~~I can only guess this was an old-school regular-cab pickup truck with the dog in the bed, but what self-respecting hick still drives a truck like that in 2026?~~ Edit: video shows the truck was an extended-cab; no excuse for the kid to be in the front.)

homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 198d

There are so many kinds of negligence going on here even before you start considering the gun!

Uh, it’s pronounced “freedom”!

*laughs in hick*

NannerBanner@literature.cafe · 5 pts · 198d (1 reply)

Not sure of where the family actually lives, but if they are at all 'country folk,' then it's pretty common for dogs to be loose. I know in some big cities that I've lived in (in the southern u.s.) it's even common to see a dog in a fenced in yard with the gate left open.

grue@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 198d

First of all, I do know where they live: Dacula is an exurb of Atlanta, about two towns farther out than where I grew up. It's kinda country, but not country enough to excuse dogs running loose (not that anywhere is these days anyway).

Second, that's all irrelevant because they had apparently taken their dog with them to Burger King.

Glifted@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 198d (3 replies)

And not the kid?

Joeffect@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 198d (2 replies)

Dog died... kid shot his finger probably gone... but will be fine... loaded gun in the glove box... this could have been prevented...

Triumph@fedia.io · 24 pts · 198d

I've kept my pistol in the glovebox, with it locked, and my kids are all grown.

I cannot imagine keeping it in an unlocked glove box, loaded and chambered, with a four year old in the front seat.

homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 198d

Yeah that

Valthorn@feddit.nu · 46 pts · 198d (1 reply)

That headline is the most American sentence I have read in a long time!

4grams@awful.systems · 3 pts · 198d

It’s like a weekly headline in the good ol usa. Type “toddler shoots” in any search engine and get dozens of similar headlines.

Buffalox@lemmy.world · 43 pts · 198d

I wonder what country that could be?

Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 198d (8 replies)

Every gun owner thinks they're a responsible gun owner.

theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 198d (7 replies)

Many of them are correct.

moonshadow@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 198d (2 replies)

Most even! But that's not as exciting as building a worldview around freaky shit that makes the news

FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 198d (1 reply)

Why engage with the issue and propose solutions when you can jerk yourself off over how much better you are than the victims?

Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 198d

I'm better than the dipshit that left a loaded gun in an unlocked glovebox with a 4 year old in the car.

The victim here is a child. Not the negligent "rEsPoNsIbLe GuN oWnEr" that left a loaded gun where a 4 year old could both access and use it.

Maybe you actually are a responsible gun owner. I doubt that sincerely since you're acting like the perpetrator is the victim.

qevlarr@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 197d (1 reply)

Doesn't matter. It's like saying most pilots will not crash a plane. All Americans are at risk because they let some irresponsible people own guns

moonshadow@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 196d

Genuinely unsure what point you're making with the plane crash thing... yes, most pilots don't crash? Sometimes they do, and we accept that risk because of the utility flying provides. It feels like you're trying to advocate for tighter gun control with an argument against it

M0oP0o@mander.xyz · 0 pts · 198d

Many of them outside of the states are correct

bstix@feddit.dk · -1 pts · 198d

I would probably feel safer around someone who says that they're not, than someone who doesn't acknowledge the potential dangerous situations.

moonshadow@slrpnk.net · 20 pts · 198d

This is why it's so important to teach kids to shoot early. My two year old loves to drop mag and show clear on her nerf gun, it's super cute

RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 198d

“A few things parents should remember…”

Not reproducing would be a start.

WhatSaid@lem.ugh.im · 12 pts · 198d (3 replies)

Darwinism in Georgia, honesty the only thing that surprised me is that it wasn't a waffle house parking lot.

taco@anarchist.nexus · 10 pts · 198d (2 replies)

There's a Waffle House down the road, as well as a McD's and Bojangles across the street. The Glock being in an unlocked glove box with a 4-year-old in the passenger seat is just one in a series of horrible judgement calls.

M0oP0o@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 198d (1 reply)

Reminder that the states is the only nation where Firearms discharging in ovens happens. It is like they are allergic to basic firearm safety, In fact the last time I talked to an american they got pissy when I told them I would never have any of my guns loaded unless I was actively using them let alone store them loaded.

More gun in oven

Even more gun in oven

Wow, they are not even treated as big news deals, just guns loaded and left in ovens left and right

Really why is this not covered more, A literal baby was shot from a loaded pistol in an oven

Rippin_Farts_And_Or_Breaking_Hearts@lemmy.org · 4 pts · 198d

Holy shit, how many loaded guns can I fit in my oven with a banana bread?

be right back...

BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz · 10 pts · 198d

Literally the ONLY way to Prevent a 4 Year Old from Shooting himself is if Someone had SHOT him First!

hexdream@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 197d (1 reply)

He couldn't wait until he got to a school? Kids these days... no self control. /s

hunnybubny@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 197d