Father charged after toddler fatally shot himself
Father accused in fatal shooting of 2-year-old.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
FLINT, Mich. (WNEM/Gray News) – Tragedy struck a Flint home when a 2-year-old boy died after shooting himself in the head in the early hours of Wednesday. The boy’s father is now facing charges in connection with the incident, according to officials in Michigan.
The Flint Police Department’s Major Crime Unit responded to a report of a shooting at an East Philadelphia Avenue residence around 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday. Upon arrival, officers discovered the young victim with a gunshot wound to his head, as reported by Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.
Initially, the father, a 26-year-old man, claimed that the toddler had shot himself with an airsoft gun. However, further investigation revealed a different story. Officers followed a blood trail to an upstairs bedroom where they found a Glock 22 40-caliber pistol, which was registered to a 31-year-old Flint man without a concealed firearm license.
The scene in the bedroom was distressing, with the gun lying on a bed next to a pool of blood and what appeared to be brain matter. Despite being rushed to Hurley Medical Center, the toddler was pronounced dead at 3:04 a.m.
Details of the Investigation
Investigators learned that the toddler’s father had been with two cousins at the residence earlier that evening. One cousin, the registered owner of the pistol, and the other, his brother with a concealed pistol license, were reportedly smoking marijuana at the home before leaving around 1 a.m.
The father claimed he heard a gunshot and found his son with the pistol and the fatal wound. Detectives found a blood trail leading from outside the house to the living room, where more blood was discovered. The trail continued upstairs to the bedroom, where a bag of suspected marijuana was found.
Further examination of the pistol revealed it was loaded with 15 live rounds, with a fired cartridge casing still in the magazine well. The bedroom bore signs of a struggle, with a bullet hole in the ceiling directly above the bed and a fired slug recovered from the ceiling.
Charges and Consequences
The father, as well as the two cousins, are facing a range of charges including violation of Michigan’s safe storage law causing death, involuntary manslaughter, and possession of a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance. The father also faces charges of lying to a police officer regarding a violent crime investigation and felony firearm violations.
Michigan’s safe storage law, which came into effect in February, mandates that firearms be unloaded and securely locked if children are likely to be present. Failure to comply with this law can have devastating consequences, as seen in this tragic incident.
Prosecutor Leyton emphasised the importance of gun safety, especially in households with young children. He highlighted the need for responsible firearm ownership and storage to prevent such heartbreaking incidents from occurring.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of gun safety and the devastating consequences of negligence. The investigation into the toddler’s death remains ongoing as authorities seek to determine the full circumstances surrounding the tragic event.
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Father facing charges after year-old fatally shot himself
Father facing charges after fatally shot himself.
