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11-Year-Old Dies After Pellet Gun Blast To Chest

By Eddie Farah

Mitchell "D.J." Maxwell, 11, of Waycross, Georgia, was at a sleep over Friday night with two other boys at the football coach's home when he was shot in the chest with a .177-caliber pellet gun. He died in the hospital about an hour later.

Our deepest condolences go out to the Maxwell family at this time. So many think that what is essentially a toy can do no harm. Unfortunately we have all found out otherwise.

The boys were reportedly playing a PlayStation 3 video game when one of the boys picked up the loaded pellet gun and pretended to shoot it. Then the next boy, a12-year-old, took over the rifle and pointed it Maxwell, shooting him point blank range in the chest.

Police report that the boys first tried to stop the bleeding themselves before calling the two adults watching television in the next room. No doubt that delayed treatment. Then when the adults called 911 they simply said the boy was unresponsive but he's breathing."

The 911 operator asked if the boy had asthma. A cousin confirmed he did.

An autopsy will be performed Monday in Savannah at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The young boy's mother says she can't believe her son is gone.

Mitchell Maxwell Sr., D.J.'s father, said he's dealing with pain and frustration, still trying to come to grips with what happened to his son, an honor roll student at Ware Magnet School where he played on the youth football team.

So many questions need to be asked. Did Ware County 911 respond properly? Without all of the information was the ambulance as quick as it needed to be? What was the resonse time?

Did paramedics perform CPR? Did their actions actually hurt the child's chance of survival?

A .1777 is capable of producing velocities in excess of 900 ft/sec. and is generally used to kill small game or pests on a farm. This is not a toy and should be treated with the same care as a firearm. No doubt the supervision of these children will be a key to the investigation.

Again, our condolences go out to the family for their loss.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on November 23, 2009 (boomark / email).