Parents sue in gun accident death of their daughter

By Vince Mancini

Published on October 25, 2005

The family of Gabriella "Gabbie" Garcia has sued Tulare County sheriff's deputy Paul Turner, whose gun was used in the shooting, and Tulare County.

The suit alleges that Turner, 26, negligently left his gun unsecured. The county is named in the suit because, according to the family's lawyer, the department had a policy requiring officers to keep their service firearm loaded at all times, with a bullet in the chamber with no safety device.

The girl and her siblings had been playing with neighbor Turner's two children on Oct. 12, 2004. According to reports, one of Turner's children found his service Glock .40-caliber pistol, which had had its clip removed but still had a bullet in the chamber. The child pulled the trigger and the bullet hit Gabriella in the head.

Turner is already awaiting trial on felony charges of negligent storage of his gun.

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