A 4-year-old French boy accidentally shot his father in the foot with a hunting rifle, causing a serious injury on Sunday.
According to Barrons, the accident occurred in Cournon d'Auvergne, which is a small town in central France. While the exact circumstances surrounding the accident are not yet known, some details have been made public. Notably, the father and his son were driving on Sunday during what was called a "hunting session." They pulled over in their vehicle to speak with friends, who were also out hunting at some point. While speaking with the friends, the young boy fired the rifle, significantly injuring his father's foot.
While questions still surround the incident, police did confirm in a statement that "not all safety rules were met."
Dominique Busson, who is president of the local hunters' association, said that the hunters "should have unloaded their rifles before gathering." Busson continued on to mention that the injured man's foot was unfortunately amputated as a result of the accident.
It is also worth mentioning that the 4-year-old boy was taken to a psychiatric ward for counseling. Police have still been investigating the incident, hoping to discover how the young child ever would have found himself handling a loaded rifle in the first place.
Father Loses Foot After Being Shot By Son with a Hunting Rifle
The entire incident is a bit head-scratching. While accidents happen each year with firearms during hunting seasons, they are always avoidable. In this specific case, the rifle should have been unloaded while the father and son were traveling in their vehicle. Moreover, many places require firearms to be cased while traveling in a vehicle.
Aside from the weapon's needing unloaded, it is also a wonder how the child could have been handling the weapon. Perhaps the father was not paying attention while conversing with his friends. Regardless, many steps could have been taken to avoid the accident, which resulted in an amputated foot.
With hunting seasons opening up across the country, the story is a good reminder of the precautions that should be taken with firearms, albeit it comes from across the pond.
