By KOMO Staff MARYSVILLE, Wash. –– A 6-year-old girl who was shot in the head Sunday evening has died at Children's Hospital in Seattle, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Investigators are questioning the girl's father, who told a 911 dispatcher that the girl was wounded while they were cleaning guns.

Snohomish County Sheriff Lt. John Flood said deputies were called to the home in the 4500 block of 83rd Place West about 7:26 p.m. and found the wounded girl.

She was taken to an Everett hospital and then airlifted to Seattle.

No one else was injured, and Flood said the girl's 42-year-old father has been detained for questioning.

The exact circumstances of the incident were unclear. Flood said the girl's mother, an infant and an 8-year-old sibling were also in the house at the time.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Why is it...when somebody seriously screws up while "playing" with their gun......they were cleaning it.......sorry pal..you fucked up..now YOUR DAUGHTER is paying  the price.

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Fixt fer da troot!

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right you are.

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Don't believe everything you read until it all comes out.

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what else is there to believe?

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Some "dads" are capable of doing horrible things.  maybe it wasn't an accident.

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Very sad.


what else is there to believe? I am skeptical; as the next person when it comes to the media, but sure sounds like daddy did something stupid.

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I just heard that she didn't make it.  

Girl dies after gun accident, father arrested
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER

A 6-year-old girl who was shot in the head while her father was cleaning a gun has died, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office reported.

The shooting was reported Sunday from her home in Marysville at 7:50 p.m. Deputies arrested the 42-year-old father and booked him into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree manslaughter, the sheriff's office reported.

The girl was taken to Seattle Children's hospital in Seattle, where she died. The father had called 911, the sheriff's office reported.

"The caller told the 911 operator that they were cleaning guns," sheriff's Lt. John Flood said Sunday.

A King County Medical Examiner's Office spokesman said Monday that jurisdiction in the case is being transferred to the Snohomish County medical examiner because the shooting took place at Marysville.

An 8-year-old sibling, an infant and the victim's mother also were home during the shooting, police said.

The incident occurred within the Tulalip Reservation, Flood said, "but we don't think this is tribal land."

The reservation also includes privately held land.

Tulalip Reservation police did not comment on the incident.

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The story, given the minimal details, sounds fishy to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he was drunk or stoned. You don't clean your guns with ammo in them damnit.

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You don't clean your guns with ammo in them damnit.

Dad admits drinking before girl's shooting, police say

By Diana Hefley and Eric Stevick
Herald Writers

MARYSVILLE – A Marysville man allegedly told police he accidentally shot his 6-year-old daughter Sunday after he sent her upstairs to retrieve the loaded .45-caliber Colt handgun from his nightstand.

Detectives were told he had planned to clean the weapon. He allegedly told detectives he'd consumed multiple double shots of vodka and would have been too intoxicated to drive a car.

Richard Peters, 42, was arrested for investigation of first-degree manslaughter. He appeared briefly this afternoon in Everett District Court, where bail was set at $250,000.

Peters told police that his daughter, Stormy, brought him the handgun at his request. He said that he pulled the trigger and she fell to the ground, according to a police affidavit filed in court today. The girl was rushed to Seattle Children’s hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead this morning.

First-degree manslaughter occurs when somebody recklessly causes the death of another person.

According to the affidavit, Peters told detectives that he grabbed the gun from the girl, cleared the magazine and pulled the trigger, according to the affidavit.

He told police he froze and was unable to perform CPR or call 911 after the girl was struck by the bullet.

Peters reportedly told police all of his children handle guns. He said the handgun that fired Sunday has a “hair trigger,” and he thought his daughter could have been able to pull back the slide.

Peters' wife allegedly told police she and her husband were cleaning guns and she retrieved the gun from his nightstand, according to the affidavit. She said that he cleared the gun, pulled back the slide and the gun went off, according to court papers. She said her daughter wasn’t in the room while they were cleaning the gun but suddenly appeared when the gun went off, police wrote in the affidavit.

Their other children, 8 and 3, were not in the room at the time of the shooting, she said.

Peters allegedly told police he has a concealed weapons permit. He said he often goes shooting and started handling guns at the age of 7, according to the court record.

****Peters told detectives he accidentally discharged a shotgun in October during a Halloween event in Darrington. He said his friend had handed him a loaded shotgun. He said he didn’t know the gun was loaded and he accidentally fired a shot downrange.****  

Neighbors of the family, who live on a quiet cul-de-sac on the west side of the Tulalip Indian Reservation, described the accident as tragic.

“They are good people,” said Ana Tall, who lives on the same block as the family. “They are good neighbors.”

The girl was a first grader at Quil Ceda Elementary School. Grief counselors were at the school this morning to work with any children who might need help, said Marysville School District Superintendent Larry Nyland.

Quil Ceda’s staff was briefed before school this morning.

“It’s just a real tragedy,” Nyland said.

Gerry Provencher, 65, didn’t know about the shooting until this morning when his son called to say the road was blocked off with police tape.

“She was just a little girl,” he said. “It’s sickening. It’s just, Why?”

Provencher said the girl’s death is a tragic reminder of the importance of gun safety.

“I have a gun,” he said. “I have grandchildren. The gun is in my safe locked.”

The other children in the home where the shooting occurred have been removed by state Child Protective Services workers, said Rebecca Hover, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office. That is standard practice when an investigation is underway surrounding the death of a child.

Sheriff spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said the two children have been placed into the custody of state Child Protective Services

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BWAHAHAHAH!  When I first read this line I thought it said Chewbacca...  

But yah, that dude needs to burn in hell...  I hope he gets reminded daily, in jail what he did...  If I have more than even a slight buzz, my guns don't even get looked at, let alone, cleaned...  NOR do I let anyone under 18 touch them when loaded...  

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Do you let any dumb fuck over 18 handle them while loaded?



It's inconceivable to me that anyone could point a gun at their 6 year old kid and pull the trigger. Dumb ass.

"It's a dangerous situation when you're cleaning guns, and you have those guns in the house and children are anywhere around, you have to be especially careful," Hover said.

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I don't let ANY dumb fucks handle them at all...  

I do let my friends shoot my guns, but they know the rules...

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Yet people on here are blaming the alcohol, as if a chemical has some bullshit voodoo evil powers, when it's still the fathers fault.

So much for reasoning.

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Wow. I can't decide whether to be sad for the family and girl or angry at the dad. Somehow both are too intense to have more than one emotion at the same time.

When the media blames the gun, we rightly point out that the gun, a machine, is not evil, and that the accident is the fathers fault.

Yet people on here are blaming the alcohol, as if a chemical has some bullshit voodoo evil powers, when it's still the fathers fault.

So much for reasoning.

The court documents filed Monday said Peters informed detectives that he accidentally discharged a gun at a pumpkin shoot in Darrington. He said a friend handed him a shotgun which he didn't know was loaded, and he accidentally fired a round.

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Umm...  Err...   Ahh....  Gee, you northern guys have a pumpkin shoot lately?

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Blame lies with the dumbfuck who drank the alcohol knowing full well that it impairs judgement. Noone here is blaming the alcohol. Blame lies with a shitforbrains gun owner who would send a 6yo to fetch his loaded gun.

BUT I have to say that when alcohol and guns are brought up there is a certain segment here that doesn't seem to think that the two should be mutually exclusive.

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I have had a beer while cleaning my guns ....  Hell, I might have even had two by the time I was done.

I've also handled power tools and climbed ladders after a beer or two.

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I am one. Why? because if I can't handle firearms after alcohol, I shouldn't handle them when I'm sleepy, or wired on caffeine, or A BILLION OTHER THINGS that affect judgement or coordination, too. It's real simple. If he's too drunk to handle firearms, or drive, or anything else, than he's too drunk period.

I'm not saying this as someone who advocates a dry lifestyle, I sure don't live one. I'm saying that everyone who routinely handles firearms, or drives a vehicle, or anything else that could potentially harm someone, occasionally, does it when their abilities are compromised to various degrees. And those who won't admit this are deluding themselves.

Frankly, I don't think alcohol made the situation worse, in this case, because the guys sounds like he has been an idiot for awhile now. This issue really is only irresponsible ownership and practices.

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Something tells me you've never been drunk before...    Honestly, when I am drunk I totally would forget to point the gun in the other direction or check to see if it's cleared...  Maybe the guy drinks A LOT...  Which still is his stupidity and not the alcohol's or gun's fault...