'He shot himself point-blank': Police shocked as Florida 3-year-old shoots himself to death with father's gun
VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: The three-year-old son of a Florida corrections officer shot himself to death on Wednesday night, February 15, after stealing a revolver from his father's nightstand. Two 911 calls were received from the boy's father at 6.22 pm on Wednesday, February 15, to report the shooting, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
The incident happened when the boy's elder sister, 16, was at their home in the DeLand area with him and their younger brother, 7, while their parents went to the grocery shop, according to Fox 13. The 3-year-old unintentionally shot himself in the head during that time.
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What exactly happened?
Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood said during a press conference that the young boy entered his parents' bedroom and took a firearm off of his father's nightstand, Fox 13 reported. The father, a state prison officer, owned the firearm. The father stated he generally keeps his firearms in a safe in the bedroom, but after the electronic lock on the safe stopped working, he moved one to his nightstand and the other to the top of the refrigerator in the kitchen.
The first deputy who arrived on the scene at 6.29 pm tried to save the boy's life before paramedics took over and rushed him to a nearby hospital. At 7.03 pm, a doctor declared the boy dead. The name of the boy was withheld by Sheriff Chitwood. No charges have been made, and no one has been taken into custody. Chitwood said, "This should have never happened. This should not have happened. We should not be standing here having this conversation. For some reason, and I don’t know the reason. I don’t know if we’ll ever know that reason. The three-year-old wandered into the bedroom and got into the end table. He pulled the gun out, pointed towards himself and shot himself point blank range.”
Can the family be charged?
The Florida Attorney's Office, which will weigh all of the evidence as well as how charges would aggravate the family's grief, will finally decide whether or not to press charges against the boy's parents. However, Florida law mandates that weapons be kept securely.
A person may break the law if they improperly store or secure a firearm, which allows a minor to access it "without the lawful permission of the minor's parent or the person having charge of the minor, and possesses or exhibits it, without the supervision required by law," according to Florida's statute 790.174 (2).
A second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and/or a $500 fine, can be committed by allowing a minor access to a firearm that wasn't properly secured. Prosecutors may pursue charges for culpable negligence if a juvenile resulted in harm or death to oneself or another.
Similar recent incidents
Some similar incidents have been recorded in the recent past when minors were killed by the improper use of firearms. In December last year, a Benson father was charged after his 2-year-old son died by accidentally shooting himself with his father's gun, according to WRAL news. Similarly, in November last year, a 2-year-old North Carolina boy accidentally shot and killed himself after he found a loaded gun in his dad’s pickup truck, according to New York Post. More recently in February this year, a 3-year-old Wharton boy died from a self-inflicted shot from his mother’s gun, Eye Witness News reported.