TODDLER DIES MISTAKING GUN FOR WII CONTROLLER

THREE-YEAR-OLD GIRL FATALLY SHOOTS HERSELF
MISTAKING HANDGUN FOR VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER

TENNESSEE, USA - Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan, 3-year-old girl, shot herself Sunday night after mistaking handgun for Wii control. Cheynne's stepfather Douglas Cronberger, 32, heard a prowler outside the property. He fetched his gun, which he usually kept unloaded in a cabinet and went to investigate. After failing to find anyone, he left the loaded Smith & Wesson handgun in the living room. Cheyenne shot herself in the stomach with the .380 caliber, semi-automatic weapon after finding it lying on a table in the living room and probably mistaken the weapon for a Wii control. Her mother, Tina Ann, 32, was sitting at the computer just a few feet away while her three-month-old brother was also lying nearby. She told the child was used to playing a shooting game with the Nintendo Wii video game console and likely confused the real gun with the realistic-looking black toy gun.

“This Nintendo game called Wii had what looks like a solid black, basically automatic-looking type mechanism that operates the game,” Sheriff Ashe said. He displayed two guns taken from the home - one the Wii controller and the other the handgun which killed Cheyenne. 'You can see by the comparison of the toy weapon and the real weapon that there's little chance a three-year-old would differentiate between the two,' “The big message we're trying to tell parents is if you've got a gun, put it up, especially if you have children,” Sheriff Ashe said. “If you have a live handgun and a toy that looks the same - for parents some bells and whistles need to go off,” he said. At present no criminal charges have been laid but information collected by the Sheriff’s office in the investigation will be given to prosecutors.


In the grihastha āśrama, or the status of family life, the couple should take care of their children and also make them to develop transcedental qualities by training them in spiritual understanding, so that they can get liberated from the material world.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Sri Rsabhadeva gives the following instruction to his sons: (ŚB.5.5.18) “One who cannot save his dependents from the impending face of death in the form of this miserable material world, cannot be considered as Guru. A father who cannot liberate his children is not a father and should not beget children. Similarly a mother, if she cannot rescue her children from illusion, should not bother to give birth to a child. A demigod should not accept worship and offerings from the votaries if he cannot deliver them. A husband should not be accepted in marriage if he cannot save the wife ... from the material illusory energy culminating in death.”

Śrīla Bhakti Promode Puri Mahārāja :
“Essence of Pure Devotion - Bhakti Siddhanta Sara”
Part II - ‘Guru Tattva’
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - http://bvml.org/SBPPG/