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Rockvale boy found with assault rifle


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Luckily no one was hurt when a 9-year-old boy was found with an assault rifle Saturday in Rockvale, according to reports filed with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

Parents Terra and Chris Finney of Patterson Road were charged with child neglect after the boy took the Mac 90 assault rifle with two loaded 30-round magazines to a neighbor’s house to show friends.

“Mrs. Finney advised me that they were not gun owners and she did not think it was unsafe to leave the gun on the floor behind the bedroom door due to the fact that the magazines were on top of the refrigerator,” Deputy Matt Clagg reported.

The Finneys said they were keeping the rifle overnight for a friend.

The Finneys left the boy and a friend unsupervised when they took their younger son to the babysitter. Both parents said they were gone less than 45 minutes.

While the parents were gone, the 9-year-old then took the rifle from behind the bedroom door and the magazines from the refrigerator.

When the boy approached the neighbor’s home with the rifle, the neighbor told the boy to go home and reported the incident to the police.

Both Terra and Chris Finney have hearings scheduled March 10 in Rutherford County court.
 
 
 
Tagged under  CRIME


Member Opinions:
By: justanopinion on 1/5/09
NOT UNSAFE.....have these parents been in the dark for the last 15 years? What if he would've "accidentally" shot himself? or them for that matter? Did they tell the child the ammo was on top of the freezer, this whole story just shows the ignorance of some parents. When are people gonna WAKE UP??????

By: confused on 1/5/09
Only that... why is the 9-year old boy left home alone? He is a little young to be home alone!!

By: SocEtTuem on 1/5/09
I've been a gun owner for my entire life. The very LAST thing I would do is leave a firearm and a loaded clip where any child could get his hands on it. One does not need to be an experienced gun owner to understand firearms must be kept in a safe, out of reach place when there are children in the home.

I don't know any 9 year old kids who can't figure out how to move a chair or stool or some such next to the refrigerator to get at what they might want on the top.

By: tiffany159 on 1/6/09
i understand what you people are saying about the 9 year old being left alone while the other boy is at the babysitters. and even if they were not holding the gun for someone else if it was theres and they had it behind the door i understand that i would want a gun behind my door to these days people can shoot someone and get away with it witch means someone can walk right in your house try to shoot you and get away with it i have seen that so the gun was behind the door..... the bullets were on top of the refridgerator and i guess the little boy probably wanted to go and show off thats how little kids are these days....not trying to offend anyone

By: alingo2001 on 1/6/09
Well SocEtTuem, apparently your not to experienced with guns. They are called magazines, not clips.

By: RonB on 1/6/09
Keeping the rifle overnight for a friend? Sounds strange to me. As a gunowner, I keep ammo seperate from guns, and locked up! Kids are curious. I'm even more careful when the Grandkids are in my house. Ain't nothing going to happen to them on MY watch!

By: justdance on 1/6/09


This scenario is about the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Who are these people anyway?

Tiffany159, please proofread and spell check!

By: Boo on 1/7/09
SocEtTuem- Clip or magazine, I don't care what word you use. I zeroed in on the point you were trying to make and I totally agree with you!

By: spanky on 1/7/09
WOW !!! A mac90. Must be a new deer hunting fully automatic, meat tenderizing model.
The dear ol ma and pa must be getting their ATF stories together.

Duh, " I aint never had no gun afore. Us poor ol hillbillies never knowed it was wrong".

ROFL

By: voiceofreason on 1/29/09
Spanky, a Mac90 is not fully automatic. It is a semi automatic rifle that fires a .30 caliber bullet, less powerful than most traditional deer hunting rifles on the market. It is a legal-to-own replica of the famous Russian Kalashnikov AK-47. While a novice may incorrectly judge it to be a meat tenderizing illegal weapon sought by BATF agents, the truth is that a bolt action Remington 30-06 is a much more powerful and dangerous weapon in the hands of a knowledgeable owner. These people, though they certainly did an irresponsible thing, have not violated any gun laws and will not even be so much as visited by the BATF. Unless of course the gun isn't stolen or determined to have been used in a crime of some sort.


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