The State Of The Nation

The State Of The Nation

Girl, 2, shoots herself with gun at home

A 2-year-old Port Richey girl is in critical condition after accidentally shooting herself with a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun, and the boyfriend of her mother is under arrest, according to investigators.

McKenzie Smith was wounded at about 10:30 on Friday morning after finding a gun on the nightstand next to her mother's bed. Jessica Smith, 22, was home at the time. The owner of the weapon, 22-year old Ralph Ronzino, was at a nearby store.

Ronzino was arrested and charged with child neglect by culpable negligence. He is also charged with possession of marijuana. Both are 2nd degree felonies.

Pasco sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said Ronzino "left the handgun on the nightstand" after hearing a gun shot outside the house on Thursday night.

"It looks like the bullet went in through the abdomen and came out, a clean-through shot, they call it," Doll said.

Deputies said they confiscated two other handguns and an AK-47 from the home, which they say were also "easily accessible" to the child.

Man stabs meat in supermarket frenzy

A knife-wielding man was arrested earlier this week in what police called a meat massacre at a south-central Indiana supermarket. Several people called 911 on Wednesday morning to report a man with a knife in the Jay C Food Store. “We have a gentleman here cutting into the meat and throwing it onto the floor,” one caller said. "Got a man with a knife who's doing things,” another caller said.

When officers arrived, they found meat scattered everywhere in what Edinburgh police called one of the most bizarre cases they had ever investigated. Police said Anthony Coffman, 28, used a hunting knife to cut through meat packages, throwing open containers of raw beef on the floor. He then poured dog food over some of the meat in hopes of contaminating it so it couldn’t be sold, Edinburgh police Deputy Chief David Lutz said.

Coffman told police that he is a vegetarian and gets upset when others consume beef, telling the employee that God sent him to ruin the meat and that he was trying to save little girls from food he believes would make them “chubby.” "He thought if he could save one chubby girl, he's done his job," Lutz said.

Employees tackled Coffman outside the store and held him until police arrived. Coffman was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. He faces charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

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