A tragic incident unfolded in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood when a three-year-old girl, Kayden Barnes, accidentally shot herself in the right eye with her father’s unsecured handgun. The toddler discovered the firearm in their home around 1:15 p.m. on a Saturday. Despite immediate medical attention, Kayden succumbed to her injuries two days later at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
At the time of the incident, both of Kayden’s parents were present in the house. The authorities have not disclosed the exact location within the home where the child found the weapon. Following the incident, a male resident of the house was detained for questioning but was subsequently released without any charges. The police have not confirmed whether this individual was Kayden’s father.
This heartbreaking event occurred just a day after another similar incident in Pennsylvania. In this case, the father of a three-year-old boy was charged with involuntary manslaughter. The boy, Elija Abreu Borgen, accidentally shot himself with his father’s loaded semi-automatic handgun while playing with another toddler in their Allentown home.
Jose Hilario Abreu, 28, the father of the deceased boy, was arrested on Friday for the incident that took place on March 28. According to the police, Abreu had left the room where the children were playing, leaving his loaded firearm unattended.
These two incidents underscore the urgent need for responsible gun ownership and the importance of secure storage of firearms, especially in homes with children. The devastating consequences of negligence in these matters have been made painfully clear in these two cases.