01 July 2023 , 16:55
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A three-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a shotgun he found at home.
Emergency responders rushed the toddler named Kayden Goldman to Children's hospital of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama, but he was sadly pronounced dead.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said adults were in the home, but the child was alone in a room when he found the gun and unintentionally shot himself.
Birmingham police are conducting an investigation into the incident. Kayden's mother, Adreanna Jones, expressed her devastation.
She described her son as a smart and intelligent child who had aspirations of playing soccer and a passion for dinosaurs.
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“My baby was so independent and he knew exactly what he wanted,’' Jones said. “He was a good child. No, he was an excellent child. To know him is to love him.”
Kayden Goldman and his mum, Adrianna Jones (Facebook)A neighbour in the apartment complex, Marquita Collins said that as a mother, she is in disbelief a child is dead.
"That's true love, you won't find that true love until you have your kids, ain't nobody love you like your kids," explained Ms Collins. "Heart broken, whew, if it was me, if it was mine, I probably wouldn't even be here, to tell you the truth, there's nothing like your own."
Another neighbour, Jessthia Thedford, who has a four-year-old grandson, urged people to not leave guns accessible to children.
She told ABC News: "Parents put your guns up. Hide them somewhere, put the safety on there, don't leave them out. Children watch you and they see what you do," said Thedford. "We use to talk things out, now they are grabbing guns, it dont make sense."
Meanwhile, Democratic-led states are in the process of implementing stricter gun laws.
Vermont is tightening gun restrictions with a new law that requires a 72-hour waiting period to buy firearms.
In California, a new standard of conduct takes effect for the firearms industry under a law that also makes it easier to bring lawsuits against gun makers and dealers.
It also creates a crime of negligent firearm storage and expands the state's “red flag” law to allow prosecutors, family and household members to ask a court to bar guns for particular people.
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Kayden Goldman with his sister Kaylee (Facebook)Florida will, however, become the latest state to allow people to carry concealed guns without a permit.
The new law comes five years after then-Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, signed legislation restricting guns following a deadly school shooting in Parkland.
Under current GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, momentum has swung back toward expanding gun rights.
Another new Florida law will prohibit credit card companies from tracking gun sales.
A law allowing concealed guns without a permit for those 21 and older also passed in Nebraska but doesn't take effect until Sept. 10.