
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 18, 1995                   TAG: 9507180064
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

BOY'S MOM CHARGED WITH LEAVING GUN OUT

The mother of the 5-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in the hand has been charged with allowing children to have access to firearms.

Kimberly W. Stowers, 36, of Emerald Street was charged Saturday, town police said. Authorities believe it is the first time a Montgomery County parent has been charged with the offense, which became law in 1991.

Virginia law makes it a misdemeanor to recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm accessible to children under the age of 14 in a way that endangers their lives. The misdemeanor carries a maximum fine of $500.

Stowers' son, whose name has not been released by police, was at home with his 12-year-old sister when the accident occurred.

Police said the boy took the .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver from the closet shelf in his mother's bedroom, then went outside. He accidentally fired the weapon, and the bullet passed through his left hand and came to rest below a gutter of a neighboring house.

He was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital, where a doctor found the boy had feeling in his fingers and was able to move them. The boy underwent surgery to clean the wound and remove any fragments left in his hand. He was later released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Stowers was released on a summons to appear in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Aug. 11.

by CNB