Not abuse related but something must be wrong for this kid to do such a thing. Why kids are allowed unsupervised access to a gun is beyond me. Actually why kids that age are even allowed to use guns is beyond me as well.

PA Boy, 11, accused of killing dad's girlfriend

Well, the article does mention the gun was specifically designed for kids.

Some people feel that teaching kids to safely use firearms is a great way to bond and instill responsibility. The problem is, when it comes to gauging how "responsible" a kid is, his own parents are not usually the best judges, because they are by no means impartial. Parents may nitpick (sometimes exceedingly) over some of a kid's faults but by and large parents in general are famously oblivious to serious problems. They often will have absolutely no idea that the kid is really not so mature or responsible as they thought, until something like this happens.

That said, I'm not sure I can fairly blame a parent's selective naivety for letting an 11-year-old keep a loaded shotgun in his room. That's just incomprehensibly ignorant.

It doesn't matter if it was specifically designed for kids unless it magically instills maturity and good decision making skills. If the parents want bond with their kids and instill responibilty, they should go to a baseball or football game for the bonding and have the kid take care of a pet for the responsibility part. If the want to hunt with their kids they should keep the gun safely locked in a safe or cabinet that the kids would never be able to get into. Kids are not mature, they can't make proper decisions. Kids are growing up to fast were giving them adult mature tasks that they can't handle. The media is throwing sex down their throats and kids are getting involved earlier and earlier.

I'm more worried about the worldwide media reporting convicting this kid before any trial, but still agree with the above.