For Immediate Release

Four-year-old Randallstown child dies from gunshot wound to head

April 27, 2004

Randallstown Child killed by handgun leads Ceasefire Maryland to exclaim: "Get Guns Out of Homes Now!"

Baltimore, MD: CeaseFire Maryland called on parents to remove guns from their homes following the tragic shooting of a 4-year-old Randallstown boy yesterday evening. The child, Miles Patrick Smith, Jr., was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit. The circumstances of the shooting are unclear but one thing is perfectly clear – there was a loaded handgun in the house within easy reach of young Miles.

Leah Barrett, Executive Director, said: “CeaseFire Maryland is saddened and deeply troubled by yet another shooting death of a very young child. When will people realize that it is time for parents to remove guns from their homes to prevent more tragedies such as this? Maryland has a child access prevention law that requires adults to keep guns away from children. It would appear that this law has been violated with tragic consequences.”

“The gun lobby has worked hard to convince Americans that they need guns in their homes for protection. As a result, too many parents have guns in their homes because they believe they will be safer. The reality is they’re putting their families, their friends and their neighbors at greater risk of gun violence,” said Matt Fenton, President of CeaseFire Maryland.

Leah Barrett continued: “The sad fact is no matter how much care parents take to store their guns, it is impossible to store them so that even small children, who are notoriously curious and determined, cannot get their hands on them. So, until firearms manufacturers improve their products to prevent unauthorized use, the only truly safe solution is to keep guns out of homes.”

Leah Barrett said: “Over the next day or so we expect to learn where Miles’ parents were at the time of the shooting and how the gun was stored, if at all. But, more than any legal or legislative point, CeaseFire Maryland believes that public attention should be directed to the fact that, if there had not been loaded guns in the home for these children to take, this senseless tragedy would not have happened.”

Barrett also pointed out that Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller introduced a bill in the 2004 General Assembly, S 547, that would have repealed the requirement that new handguns be equipped with an internal locking device, to protect children from accidents. She concluded: “This case shows how important it is to maintain minimal safety standards for new handguns and not to turn back the clock on child safety.” (A recent study showed 22 suicides (attempted or completed), homicides or unintentional shootings for every justifiable shooting of an assailant or intruder. Kellerman, AL, Somes G, Rivara F, et al, Injuries and deaths due to firearms in the home. Journal of Trauma 45: 263-267, 1998.)