Daughters, sons...and guns
KANSAS CITY – Two days after Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend and himself, his Kansas City Chiefs teammates said they were not surprised to learn the 25-year-old linebacker owned weapons.
At least one teammate defended the decision to have a gun.
"Just because we're NFL players, it doesn't make us no different. Some of you guys probably have guns in your houses. If you have daughters, you should. You never know when somebody might try to rob you or do whatever, you know?" defensive tackle Shaun Smith said.
MERCER, Pa. — A 7-year-old boy had been buckling himself into his safety seat in the back of his father's truck when he was shot to death after a handgun accidentally went off as his father got in the front seat, police said Sunday.
Joseph V. Loughrey, 44, told police he had been trying to sell the guns Saturday at Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township, 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. He unloaded the magazine at home, but didn't realize a bullet was still in the chamber, Lt. Eric Hermick said. His son, Craig Allen Loughrey, was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
State police Lt. Eric Hermick said Sunday the father had secured a rifle in the back of the truck and placed his pistol on the console when the handgun went off. Hermick said police are reviewing surveillance video from the store, which helped lay out the chain of events; the video is not being released.
"It is very clear-cut exactly what transpired here," Hermick said of what he called clearly an accident. "As he's laying it down, it discharges."