I also learned about firearms and safety from my dad at an early age, and also learned very quickly where Dad stashed the key to the gun cabinet! It was torture looking at those guns behind the glass, so often..... My point is; this kid may have also payed attention, and particularly to the safe combo or key location without Dad knowing. Just another possibility, with the fast learning mentioned by a few here and all. So maybe, just maybe the parents did everythig right, and the kid knew too much?
Possibly. Some folks may say "How irresponsible!" to what I'm about to share next, but I did so as both a training aid as well as a test.
Prior to the 3-day firearms safety and use training I gave my son when he was nine, there were only two places I kept my firearm when he was in town: Holstered and on my hip, or in my key+combo gun safe. Shortly after the training, however (which he passed with flying colors), I left my
unloaded firearm within arms reach on my desk while I was at the computer. A critical point in his training was that neither he nor any child under the age of 18 is allowed to touch, much less pick up, a firearm unless they're under direct adult supervision by the owner of that firearm.
A couple of days later, I left my
unloaded firearm on my nightstand. It was within visual range of my desk, so I could see if he'd get curious about it and break the rule.
On the second day of doing this, he came to me and said, "Dad? What would you do if I were to pick up your gun without your permission?" I looked him calmly, but seriously in the eye and said, "I'd paddle your behind until it blistered. You wouldn't be able to sit down for a week, and you would forfeit all pool privileges for the rest of the summer."
His eyes grew wider, and he was definitely daunted by the prospect of so severe a punishment!
To this day, he is very careful to avoid even getting near my firearm ... unless we're on the range. At the range, he really enjoys firing it!
Despite my apparent achievement, there are still only two places where I kept my
loaded firearm when he's in town: Holstered and on my hip, or in my key+combo gun safe. Well, I also keep it under my pillow while I'm sleeping.
Reason: As kids mature, particularly as they go through puberty, their brains are awash in some pretty powerful chemicals. As a result, the brain itself changes over time, and even the best of teens often do some pretty foolish and reckless things. Even my well-trained son might one day get the thought in his head, "I'm old enough to handle it now" and break training. I trust myself to always handle my firearm appropriately, but who knows if my son might forget one simple, but critical step, such as racking the slide after ejecting the magazine, thereby believing the gun was unloaded when it was in fact, loaded?
There's absolutely no reason (and no excuse, in my book) for a youth to gain unsupervised access to a firearm. Not only are accidental deaths, maimings, and disfigurements due to firearms prime fodder for the anti-2A and anti-gun movements, but they're a real tragedy for the families and the children themselves.
Interestingly, I was raised by a reasonably strict father, even though he was also a "big picture" sort of guy. As such, he gave us wide latitude to get into trouble, provided it wasn't the sort that might result in death or mayhem. Thus, we learned from our mistakes. When I was nine (hence my username of "since9") my father gave me his own version of firearms safety.
It must have stuck. I was a latchkey kid starting in seventh grade, and although I had unsupervised access to my parents' closet where my dad's firearms were stored, I respected his training and refrained from touching them unless he was there directly supervising the operation.
Of course, that didn't stop us kids from being stupid in other ways, but that's a different story.