this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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Warning: Article has detailed accounts of the shooting

Breanna Gayle Devall Runions, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of Evangaline Gunter.

The child’s parents, Adam and Josie Gunter, told ABC affiliate WATE that Evangaline had been in temporary custody at a home in Rockwood, which Runions shared with girlfriend Christina Daniels and another child, a 7-year-old girl.

Before the shooting, Evangaline and the older girl were being punished that morning by Runions for not waking up the women and for eating Daniels’ food without permission, according to the warrant and a statement from Russell Johnson, district attorney general for Tennessee’s 9th Judicial District. Runions struck both girls with a sandal before forcing them to stand in different corners of the women’s bedroom, authorities said the older girl told them.

After the shooting, the women drove Evangaline to a nearby Walmart location to meet an ambulance, Roane County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Boduch told the Roane County News, and the vehicle transported the girl to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Boduch could not immediately be reached by HuffPost.

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[–] MNByChoice@midwest.social 137 points 1 year ago (7 children)

were being punished that morning by Runions for not waking up the women and for eating Daniels’ food without permission

Any time a young child is in trouble for eating someone's food, it is a huge red flag.

Any time a child is responsible for an adult's schedule, it is a huge red flag.

This article is about child abuse that lead to murder.

Tragic

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 61 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The headline really fucking buried the lede. This is not a story about a firearms instructor accidentally shooting someone. This is a story about extreme child abuse.

[–] Patches@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What kind of legitimate firearm instructor would allow a 4 year old to hold a gun. This was always about Child Abuse.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 8 points 1 year ago

Well, the difference would be "incompetent fire arm instructor" versus "person trying to cover up murdering a child"

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[–] smollittlefrog@lemdro.id 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Did you miss the part where it described the actual abuse? Like, you don't need to do much guessing to find out they were being abused.

Runions struck both girls with a sandal before forcing them to stand in different corners of the women’s bedroom

[–] DessertStorms@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Why was she

in temporary custody at a home in Rockwood

what does that even mean?? It makes it sound like she was being held there without consent, but she's a child and no kidnapping is mentioned, so who put here there? What relation was the killer to the child? Where were her parents?

[–] thesushicat@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The full article mentions the child had been placed there by a "court decision" so it sounds like the parents may have temporarily lost custody.

[–] DessertStorms@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I appreciate the info, thanks.

That raises so many other questions though, none will help make this case any less horrible, but it just feels like so many people failed this poor child in her short life (potentially her parents, but also whoever placed her in this situation and failed to ensure her safety), but probably only one will pay..

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[–] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The whole article describes a strange situation. The "adults" where mad at the kids for not waking them and eating their food. Like what is even going on over here?

[–] Patches@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

Child Abuse. Child abuse is going on over there.

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[–] Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world 103 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Runions pressed the barrel of the gun against the child’s chest and pulled the trigger, police said she told them.

Daniels told police that she saw Runions take out the gun, remove its magazine and put it to Evangaline’s chest, but she turned away and didn’t see her pull the trigger, according to the warrant.

This was a murder.

[–] dethb0y@lemmy.world 60 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yeah it's 100% just a murder. probably she thinks by saying it's an "accident" she can either skate or get a manslaughter conviction instead of murder.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

people do forget about the chambered round all the time.

But. I ain't holding my breath, either.

[–] Im14abeer@midwest.social 5 points 1 year ago

And this is why the rule is every time you pick up/are handed a gun you check the chamber. Even if you just watched your buddy do it. Also, firearm safety for a four year old is "Stop, don't touch, tell an adult."

[–] loutr@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago

people do forget about the chambered round all the time.

all the time?? And y'all still are having debates on whether it might be time to maybe start looking at how you may act on the issue? America seems fucking crazy from the outside looking in...

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[–] dan1101@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, what the hell kind of gun safety lesson was that? Here is exactly what NOT to ever do.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"Here kid, don't do exactly this or you'll Alec Baldwin someone."

Tries to "teach gun safety" by breaking all 4 major gun safety rules at once

Yeah, not buying her story lol.

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[–] Treczoks@kbin.social 45 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Just another reason why not every idiot and his uncle should be allowed to own a firearm.

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[–] ZzyzxRoad@lemm.ee 39 points 1 year ago (2 children)

temporary custody

Why is it next to impossible for people to get approved to adopt, but any asshole can become a foster parent? I think you need more in-depth screenings to adopt from pet rescues. If the US is going to force pregnancy on people, then they really need to get a handle on the foster system. Because it's always about "protecting the children," right?

[–] TruTollTroll@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Went through the foster care/guardianship in Oregon for us. These kinda stories make me Soo mad. I have a lot of First hand experience with the Oregon foster system.. I am adopted myself. I Was in 97 to a single woman in her late 50s (I loved my mom, make no mistake she was great and may she RIP) but it was super easy for her to adopt me.. like really easy...

THAT SAID... My husband and I also had to get custody of my nephew from my sister. It was a terrible experience and I almost warn people who are interested in being a foster because of our experience..

My husband and I went through hell and back in Oregon to be become foster parents just so we could take our nephew out of foster care. As we went through the process, We got accused of only wanting him for money by a foster care certifier. (mind you the amount they pay is pennies a month for a kid) God that woman was outrageous and we had to complain to my nephews case worker, that her co-worker was sabotaging our nephews chance at permanent placement and almost backed out because she made us look so bad for asking questions and curious about how to afford this child. Very relevant question to ask, wouldn't you say? (This foster certifier was very Catholic made it very know to me and my husband. She got upset with us when we told her we are not religious and had to tell us about all the Catholic churches and schools he should be in.... and at the time, we were also not married. (Gasp I know!!)

So she put in her report, that she was suspicious of us and our reasons for being interested in this child for suspicious reasons. This was my nephew!! I was there when he was born and everyday since till he went to foster care. My mom died.in 2020 and my sister couldn't parent without her support.. I wanted him home.. it was that simple!! But this worker made It a fucking nightmare and I was sooooo angry.

Thanks to his case worker appealing for us and showing the judge the errors the certifier was claiming we finally got the foster parent certification and are now full fledged guardians of him and have yearly check ins.. it was a headache and almost impossible with how long it took...

So when I see stories like this and someone who got be a foster who clearly shouldn't be, INFURIATINES ME!!! we had to work so hard and show everything (not that it was a problem for us, we expected it) but to see those who didn't get held to the same standards and a kid gets hurt through negligence pisses me off!!

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[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For people who, like me, saw the gap between "teaching firearm safety" and first degree murder, the method outlined in the article for teaching firearm safety seemed to involve putting the barrel of the gun to the child's chest and pulling the trigger. The witness, the other child living in the home, says that the killer did pull the magazine before the 'safety lesson' though. Technically this might make premeditation difficult to prove and could hinder a first degree murder conviction but I also think that a jury will figure out some way to make this monster go away forever regardless of what the letter of the law says.

[–] roboticide@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

I mean, IANAL but I think it's pretty easy to argue that anyone with the bare minimum knowledge of firearms and intent to teach safety would know that:

  1. You presume the gun is always loaded.

  2. You check the chamber, even after pulling the mag. And then still treat the gun as loaded.

  3. You don't start the lesson by putting the barrel of the gun to anyone's chest and pulling the trigger. Because you don't do that when treating a gun as if its loaded.

With those three points, which again, I would argue constitutes the bare minimum to anyone attempting to teach firearm safety, a skilled prosecutor could argue there was some sort of intent. She would have known those things, yet didn't do those things, and so behaved in a way that indicates other intent. Easier to argue manslaughter, of course, but it's just so egregious I can see why they'd push for 1st degree.

[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The standard for first degree murder is higher than the mens rea required for most crime. It's not just an intent to kill, it's a premeditated plan to kill.

I think they pushed for first degree because most people see murdering a child as the most bad murder you can do and first degree murder as the most bad murder charge you can convict someone of. To do any less would invite political attacks for being "soft on crime" but I think it's a lot to try to argue that this person must have intended to kill this child because no one could possibly be that stupid. Any time I've ever thought "no one could possibly be that stupid and cruel" I've been unpleasantly surprised.

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[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago (13 children)

This is reason #9,278 why conservatives should not be allowed near children.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

And reason #53759742269743 why guns should be extremely restricted.

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[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Every gun owner thinks they're a responsible gun owner.

[–] frazw@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Can't argue, she is responsible for this.

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[–] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Kind of like every dog owner. Except that most dogs have redeeming value.

[–] deconstruct@lemm.ee 26 points 1 year ago

Very upsetting story. This young girl was failed by every adult in her life.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There is a serious issue with child abuse here.

But, if you can correctly guess the country where this occurred before reading the locale in the article, then it's a telling point about how famous the idiots+guns connection is in exactly one affluent country while still being a tangent.

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[–] Borkingheck@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

You wanna teach firearm safety to a four year old, keep your guns safely locked up and practice using a hose pipe. If that murderer beams you with the hose, don't let them have your gloc because they gunna Bury you.

[–] Pratai@lemmy.ca 18 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Everyone is a responsible gun owner until they aren’t.

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[–] Colorcodedresistor@lemm.ee 18 points 1 year ago

Do not begrudge getting older...so few get the opportunity.

4 year old wiped off this world because a 25 year old woman shot her in an attempt to intimidate and scare her. there was no firearms safety class being taught; if my mother wanted to "show me something" it was always to rub my nose in the proverbial piss of some mistake i had made in her eyes. That is what i see here for this "gun class"

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 1 year ago

The 7-year-old girl told authorities that she saw Runions shoot Evangaline and said the bullet struck a glass bottle, sending shards her way, according to the warrant.

It's even crueler for the child that witnessed the murder. At least the girl who was killed doesn't have to continue to suffer. The 7-year-old who had to see it is old enough to remember that trauma for fucking forever. She's going to need so much therapy to overcome this incident and our system won't provide it for free.

Fuck anyone who brings out a gun around children.

[–] SeaJ@lemm.ee 15 points 1 year ago

This was a murder, plain and simple. She put a gun up to the girl's chest and pulled the trigger.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 13 points 1 year ago

The gun safety lesson here being "see what happens when two meth heads with children in the house are allowed to have a gun"...

[–] Cracks_InTheWalls@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Was gonna come in here to say "The first rule of gun safety is your gun is always loaded, even if you cleared it and the safety is on, so barrels don't get pointed at anything you don't want to die".

This still applies here, but the situation had nothing to do with teaching a kid. Now that kid is dead. So fucked...

WTF

That is like teaching fire safety by pouring gasoline on someone and waving a lit match.

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

what a piece of shit headline. the girl was being punished or the lady was trying to scare her and the gun went off. the 7 year old said that they were being punished for waking someone up and eating food?! this is probably a foster parent situation. I sure as fuck hope that 7 year old is placed in a new home!

showing someone gun safety is the killers excuse, thats not what happened here at all.

AND FUCKING 4 YEAR OLDS CANT EVEN TIE THEIR SHOES! WHY WOULD YOU GIVE THEM GUN SAFETY?

FUCKING HORRIBLE

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[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It is too easy to get a driver's license in the US and sure is hell way too easy to get a gun. Some people can't be trusted with a toothbrush.

[–] Pat12@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

According to a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrest warrant obtained by HuffPost, Runions told police that she had taken a 9 mm handgun out of its case, removed the magazine and called Evangaline over to “show her firearm safety.” Runions pressed the barrel of the gun against the child’s chest and pulled the trigger, police said she told them. Daniels told police that she saw Runions take out the gun, remove its magazine and put it to Evangaline’s chest, but she turned away and didn’t see her pull the trigger, according to the warrant. The 7-year-old girl told authorities that she saw Runions shoot Evangaline and said the bullet struck a glass bottle, sending shards her way, according to the warrant.

wtf

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