A 64-year-old American father who accidentally shot and killed his 14-year-old son at a Florida shooting range has said he blames himself, not the gun, for the tragedy.
Clayton Brumby told a local newspaper that a hot shell casing fell down the back of his shirt during target practice on Sunday. He threw both arms into the air, but his finger remained on the trigger, causing the weapon to fire.
'The gun didn't kill my boy, I did,' he said. The bullet ricocheted off the ceiling and struck his son Stephen in the neck. His older son shouted: 'Dad, Stephen's been shot.'
Brumby, a father of seven, said gun safety had always been important to him. 'That's why it was so stupid and freaky of me because the gun is supposed to be pointed down the range at all times,' he said.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office described the shooting as accidental and said no charges are planned. Their account differs slightly: witnesses said Brumby tried to remove the casing from his shirt with his right hand, which also held the weapon, inadvertently pointing the firearm behind him and firing.
Brumby had been shooting for about three years, and his son took it up 18 months ago.
