Father Fatally Shoots Daughter While Teaching a Lesson About Gun Safety

A little girl is dead, her brothers are traumatized for life, and her family is irreparably broken this week after an Indiana man who was trying to teach his sons about gun safety accidentally shot and killed his nine-year-old daughter.

According to People, 33-year-old Eric Hummel of Hobart, Indiana, had sat down with his 10- and 9-year-old sons to explain gun safety and how to responsibly use a firearm. During the “lesson,” his 9-year-old daughter, Olivia, walked into the room. Her father said, “See? Don’t play with guns.” And then he pointed it at her and pulled the trigger, shooting her in the head.

He was teaching his sons about gun safety, and he shot his daughter in the head.

Hummel called 911 in a panic, saying he hadn’t known the gun was loaded. Olivia died, and police arrested him. Hummel had to call his wife from the police station and tell her that her daughter was dead, and he’d done it.

In interviews with the police, Hummel’s sons said that he had come in with the gun and sat them down for a talking-to about how guns are not toys and you should never play with guns. They say the gun was not loaded, because he pointed it at each of them and pulled the trigger.

The older boy told police the unloaded gun made a little “pop” sound when his father fired it at him. He said his father did that at him and his brother several times, while telling the kids that they should never play with guns, and that guns are not toys.

“I thought it was empty,” he told police.

Then Hummel put a bullet in the gun, while continuing to tell the kids never to use guns. That’s when Olivia walked in, and he turned and shot her, allegedly intending to “play” shoot her like he’d been doing with the boys. Somehow he says he had completely forgotten that he had just loaded the gun.

This story is horrible. According to these kids, their father pointed a gun and fired it at all of them multiple times, to teach them never to point a gun at somebody and pull the trigger. That is not how you teach gun safety! That is the opposite of gun safety.

The very first rule of gun safety is to ALWAYS treat every weapon as though it were loaded. Also to never, ever point a gun at anybody you are not ready to kill. This man pointed it at all of his kids and pulled the trigger. Before this he probably would have sworn up and down that he was a model of responsible gun ownership. He didn’t know a thing about gun safety.

Hummel has pleaded not guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, battery resulting in death to a person less than 14 years old, reckless homicide, and two counts of neglect of a dependent. He faces 20 to 40 years in prison if convicted.

(Image: iStockPhoto / DERO2084)