A fatal pellet gunshot caused the death of CJ Patton, a 10-year-old boy from Georgia, police said. Jamarius Walls, 17, was taken into custody by the authorities on Thursday morning. He was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. Wall is being held at Baldwin County Jail, Newsweek reported.
A GoFundMe page was set up to aid the family, organized by Brittany Matheny, who said the shooting was accidental.
The gun pellet caused "severe brain damage"
In the GoFundMe Page, Matheny explained that the pellet lodged in Patton's brain, entering through the right side of this temple.
The boy was rushed to a hospital in Milledgeville, and the doctors said he had "severe brain damage" from the pellet. Doctors also said he was not showing any brain activity.
Patton was then airlifted to Children's Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta and was placed on a ventilator. The doctors were unable to save the boy.
Matheny urged people to donate to help pay for the funeral expenses.
Pellet Gun Fatal Shooting in 2018
In 2018, a similar tragic incident happened in Greenville, Mississippi, when a nine-year-old boy was shot by his eight-year-old brother.
According to the Two-Gun Tactical business manager Emily Frederick, children often get pellet guns as their first gun. This would make the kids think the pellet guns are toys because they are smaller and do not have the big bang shoot when fired.
"It doesn't have that big bang when you shoot it," Frederick said. She also said that since the gun does not have a bang, the kids believe that it is not a real gun.
Frederick warns that although pellet guns do not have noise, they could make up for it with their power.
According to Todd Serotti, manager at Van's Deer Processing, some of the newest models of pellet guns are more dangerous than their previous counterparts.
Safety and education are important for shooters
A pellet gun with a 17-caliber bullet at 1,200 feet a second has the same velocity of a 22-rifle, Serotti said. Pellet guns, he said, "got a lot more energy" and are designed to penetrate a lot deeper.
Despite the pellet guns becoming powerful, there are currently no federal laws that regulate airguns, pellet guns, or BB guns.
However, several states listed below regulate the transfer possession of airguns, BB guns, and pellet guns.
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Illinois
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Despite the limitations on regulation for pellet guns, Serotti and Frederick underline the importance of safety and education for pellet gun shooters of all ages. For them, it is important to keep these tips in mind when holding a pellet gun to save lives:
- Always have the gun pointed in a safe direction.
- Keep the gun unloaded until it is ready for use.
- Always keep the finger off the trigger until one is ready to shoot the gun.
