I would also agree, it is not for everyone. It takes a parent and family that are avid hunters and understand the importance of gun safety, and the responsibility we have in teaching it to our kids, just as we teach them how to hunt. For every one terrible hunting accident, there are tens of thousands of great stories and experiences.

That being said, this was not even a hunting accident. A very screwed up boy, who, unfortunately, had access to a gun. That falls upon the parents and adults in his life.

I feel very sorry for the woman's family, including the 4 year old child who found her. But I'm not sure true justice will be served from trying the boy as an adult.

In some cases, justice is really never served. There is no un-doing a tragedy. Hopefully, the boy will get the treatment he needs and something good will come of this. Personally, I think it would be almost as tragic, to try him as an adult and sentence him to life in prison. I have to believe, there is much more to the story than we really know, from the above article.

He's a child only in the chronological sense of that word. Time to remove his genes from the pool. Like Baretta used to say, "If y' can't do the time, don't do the crime" ...

We'll agree to disagree on that one. Besides, I think Baretta killed his wife and fought like hell to stay out of prison.

We can disagree. And 'Baretta' obviously talked out of both sides of his mouth - I remember when that went down and thinkin' how ironic he was bein' hung by his own phrase ... O J and Phil Spector were two other nuts that didn't fall far from the tree. That doesn't change how they should be dealt with, tho' ... time for them to quit depleting the oxygen supply used by the law-abiding part of the gene pool.

Who designs a gun for a youth anyway? Sick

Who buys a gun designed for a youth? Sick

No wonder the child has mental issues, whoever bought a gun for him should be standing trial for creating the problem in the first place.

I'm not convinced a child of 11 (the age this boy was when the murder took place) is cognitively and emotionally able to comprehend the value of life or the finality of it. I think I did at that age, but I was taught the value of life from a very early age. I'm not so sure adults share that knowledge with kids as they once did. It started with my mother helping us return baby birds to their nests. It started with being required to care for and nurture our pets. It started with watching my mother care for my terminally ill grandmother in our home. I understood very young the importance of another's life...not just to them, but those around them.

I, too, believe this child needs to be held responsible for his actions, but at least in a juvenile court there might be a chance for him to be redeemed. Sadly, I think 3 people are lost, now. The beautiful young woman, the child who never had an opportunity to live and now this boy. Very sad for that family and those who loved all 3.

I wonder, do you think he is some type of beast-child? I don't know. Anyone remember the old movie, "The Bad Seed"? Do children like that truly exist?

Right. That's the way to deal with it. Blame the object. How come EDUCATING the kid about the PROPER way to use guns isn't one of your considerations? Guess it's easier than dealing with the reality that some kids are just not saveable. The gun did not pull its own trigger - or is that too difficult a concept?

Everyone is "savable".....all life is sacred!

Sounds as if the child knew quite well how to operate the gun. Seems he must not have learned to respect life, though...

Valid point. There's a difference between being TRAINED and having simple mechanical knowledge. This is not the act of someone who's had proper training. This is just vicious.

We've done a good job of dumbing down and creating immature children in our efforts to "let them be kids awhile".

They used to be married and having kids by that age, and carrying a responsibility as adults.

Married at 11?

Yep. Girls were starting their periods around 8/9/10 and as soon as that happened, they were married off. "If you can bleed, you can breed" The boys were frequently brought into it, though there were certainly young girls to way older men too.