2-year-old boy accidentally shoots himself in the head with gun he found in grandmother's purse in South Carolina
A South Carolina family of a two-year-old boy was left grieving after he accidentally shot himself with a gun he reportedly found in his grandmother's purse.
Greenville County deputies responded to a residence on Dronfield Drive on Thursday, June 21, the home of two-year-old Kayden John Stuber, of Greenville, after they received a report of a gunshot victim at around 1.30 pm that afternoon, stated Greenville News in a report.
Deputies tried to revive the toddler before EMS arrived but, despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at 1.58 pm on the way to the Pediatric Emergency Department of Prisma Health Systems.
Kayden was reportedly in the care of his grandmother, Bekki, that afternoon and the two had just returned home from an outing. The tragic shooting unfolded when she put her purse down to go to the bathroom.
In the span of a few minutes, the two-year-old had managed to unzip her purse, pull out the firearm from a holster within the purse, pull the trigger and shoot himself in the head. In a report following his death, the coroner's office wrote, "Preliminary results show the cause of death as gunshot wound of head," and ruled the manner of death as an accident.
Tim Gunter, Kayden's grandfather, said both he and Bekki are concealed weapon permit holders and trained in firearm safety and explained that they both had decided to carry firearms in response to crime in the area.
Investigators have questioned the family and confiscated the firearm involved in the shooting. The incident is still under investigation by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and Coroner's Office, and it is still unclear if the family will be charged.
Gunter said the entire family is reeling from the incident and that no one was even eating or sleeping. He dismissed suggestions that they were careless in just letting the gun lay around. "People come to conclusions," he told Greenville News, "that 'they're just stupid people with guns lying around'. That's not what it is at all. It's not fair people are judging and being such judging people."
"They know damn well we wouldn't have let anything happen to the baby," he continued, adding, "My wife blames herself." The family has moved to a temporary home as they deal with the tragedy, and Gunter said if the police do give them back the gun, a Glock, he would destroy it because it was "evil now".
He is also planning to go to businesses that teach gun safety to share their story so instructors can use it as a warning in their classes.