---- —
The death of Craig Allen Loughrey is a tragedy, pure and simple, but the magnitude of it demands more than that pithy observation.
The 7-year-old Fredonia boy was shot when his father’s handgun went off Saturday morning in the parking lot of a Mercer area gun shop. He died in his booster seat.
My son is 7 and I couldn’t help but think of him when I read Craig’s obituary. Max loves super heroes and ninjas, too, and the thought of his light being snuffed out drove home the pain and loss that Craig’s family is feeling now.
My son has his whole life in front of him. Craig doesn’t anymore.
The shooting was an accident. Accidents happen. We all know that, but there are some who are heaping scorn on Craig’s father, who thought the handgun he was stowing in the console of his pickup was empty when it went off.
A round was left in the chamber, a single bullet unaccounted for when he unloaded the pistol. It was a mistake. A common one, according to police investigating the shooting and the online community that is quick to draw conclusions, take sides, lay blame and exercise 20-20 hindsight.
When I think of Craig’s dad, I don’t see an irresponsible gun owner, I see a father who has lost his son. He deserves sympathy and comfort and understanding.
He will need it now and forever. What he should or shouldn’t have done before his son was shot is irrelevant.
This story has gone viral, picked up in newspapers across the country, filling time on TV broadcasts and cable news, and posted on hundreds of websites.
Not surprisingly, it’s been taken up by those who support gun control and those who oppose it. The old arguments are trotted out. “Guns kill people.” “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
Both sides are right, both sides are wrong, and the death of one little boy in a gravel parking lot in western Pennsylvania isn’t going to resolve that yin-yang argument.
The urge to find some lesson in Craig’s death is strong, but whatever it is, it hasn’t come to me yet.
This story isn’t an indictment of gun ownership or an isolated incident. It’s something real that happened to real people in a real place and to use it as a cudgel to beat down those you disagree with disrespects the pain that those who know and love Craig feel.
They probably aren’t looking for a larger meaning right now. The empty space left by the loss of their beautiful little boy is probably big enough for them.
Nick Hildebrand is The Herald’s News Editor/Weekend. Contact him at nhildebrand@sharonherald.com
Opinion
Related Photos
-
MUG-Hildebrand, Nick 11211.jpg
Boy's death is bigger than gun debate
- Opinion
-
-
Knees shaking, I almost never left the parking lot
Throughout the country, many students will be completing internships this summer in their chosen fields of study.
-
Pondering 2 important things: voting and ‘mums’
HERE ARE some thoughts from a guy who wonders how many people will take advantage of their privilege to vote on Tuesday.
-
While cuts are rampant, education system suffers
As concerns rise across the nation for the many sub-par high school graduates we are producing, we continue to see federal and state funding cut for education.
-
Killer robot report plants seed of our eventual doom
It’s not every day, or ever, that killer robots make international news. One reason is that, as far as we can tell, they don’t exist. Yet.
-
Early-morning fishing trips were a hook for life
Columnists are a different breed of cat. One never knows when the Muse will move them to write about the darndest and at times oddest of things. That happens to me frequently, when out of the blue, a seed is planted in the creative part of my brain and develops into a personal piece of writing. It's like a thunderbolt from nowhere.
Seinfeld-like moments. -
Marks grocery a pioneer for ethnic specialty shops
On a recent trip to Pittsburgh, I strolled through the Strip District, of course. In addition to giving a regular donation at the Rivers Casino, walking the strip is one of my favorite Pittsburgh pastimes.
-
City becoming large maze of traffic signals
One thing the city of Hermitage doesn’t need is another traffic light. But this week, that’s what Hermitage commissioners agreed to install on Route 18 at LindenPointe.
-
It’s tough when people kill only for sake of killing
The United States of America is truly the land of opportunity. Immigrants came here and founded this country and built it into the great land it is today.
-
'Gunsmoke' revisited: Festus, Chester, Dillon
CALL IT SOME BAD luck, but on the nicest two days of the spring last Monday and Tuesday, I was at home nursing a head and chest cold that had been keeping my sleep to an hour or two a night. It seems as though four out of five people one knows have had this viral illness this year, and from talking to many of them, quick cures are out of the question.
-
OUR VIEW: ‘Distracted’ rep missed a chance to advance policy
We don't often dip our editorial oars into the factually challenged cesspool of the blogosphere, but a couple of recent online posts caught our attention because they concerned Mercer County Congressman Mike Kelly.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
