BB Guns Are Not Toys

No amount of words or tears or regrets can breathe life back into the tiny body of Nancy Gomez, the Ojai Valley 1-year-old who died last week after being struck in the head by a shot from a BB gun.

Not the sorrow of her 8-year-old brother, who accidentally shot her while fooling around with the gun in the family’s front yard.

Not the grief of their mother, who was at home when her son and a 12-year-old cousin stepped outside to play. She didn’t realize that the boy had taken the BB gun with him.

According to police, the boys began shooting at avocados. Then, believing that the BB gun was empty, they stuffed a small avocado into the barrel and began pumping the gun, hoping to create enough air pressure to propel the avocado into the air. But after firing, the avocado flew forward, along with a BB.

Little Nancy was playing about 3 feet away. The BB penetrated her skull and entered her brain. She was rushed to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for emergency surgery, lingered in a coma until Monday night, then died.

“People just don’t realize how dangerous these things can be,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Bailey told The Times. “These things should be treated like firearms. And parents, you need to supervise your children when they are using them.”

That is a lesson that the Gomez family will never forget. It is one that other parents and kids would do well to note, especially in this semirural county where BB guns are a common childhood accessory.

BB guns are often viewed as toys, but they demand to be handled with respect. Most high-powered BB guns carry warning labels that read “Not a toy. Adult supervision required. Misuse may cause serious injury or death.” Yet each year, more than 30,000 people are injured and an average of four are killed with BB guns nationwide, according to the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The commission recommends that no one under 16 use the guns. Many BB guns can also fire steel pellets, which are even more dangerous than the round steel balls called BBs.

Tragedy takes only an instant, and parents who allow potentially deadly playthings in their homes must be extra vigilant.

“Even a toy can be dangerous,” Mario Gomez, Nancy’s father, told The Times. “People shouldn’t have any dangerous weapons in their house, even if it’s a toy. It just shouldn’t be in the house at all.”