Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By George Fusner, Jr., Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Douglas Cronberger of rural Norene, Tennessee thought he heard a prowler enter his home during the night. He got up to check it out, bringing his .380 caliber handgun with him. He thought the gun was unloaded. After checking the house and not finding anyone, he set the gun on the end table in the living room and forgot about it, then later went back to bed.
Sometime during the night, his three year old step-daughter, Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan, woke up and went out into the living room. She picked up the pistol and fatally shot herself in the abdomen. Police believe that the girl thought the gun was the remote for her Nintendo Wii video game, which was also kept in the living room and looks remarkably like a real gun. The girl had been playing the video game for several days before the incident occurred.
The child’s mother, Tina Ann CronBerger, was asleep in the house when the accident took place. Terry Ashe, the Wilson County Sheriff, is saddened by this tragic accident, but is working hard to get out the message that everyone needs to secure their firearms, especially those who have children of any age in the house.
Read more details of this tragic accident at 3-year-old fatally shoots herself after mixing up wii game with real pistol.