A 2-year-old boy in Michigan is dead after accidentally shooting himself with a gun that was left in a car by a convicted felon. The boy's mother, who was also in the car, was not injured.
The incident happened at a Sunoco gas station in Lansing on October 24. Just one minute after the felon, Avis Damone Coward, got out of the car and went inside the gas station, a bullet hole riddled the window of the vehicle.
Moments later, the child's mother exited the car, holding her child with blood pouring from his head. As she got out, Coward's gun allegedly fell out of the car and onto the pavement.
Coward returned to the car and reached for his gun, putting it back in the car. The toddler was rushed to a hospital but died the next night.
Coward is now charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is also facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.
This tragedy is a reminder of the importance of responsible gun ownership and safety storage. More than half of U.S. gun owners do not safely store their firearms.
Under a new Michigan gun safety law that will go into effect in March 2024, gun owners must keep firearms "unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is or is likely to be present on the premises."
If they do not and a child accesses the gun, causing a death, the gun owner faces up to 15 years behind bars and/or a fine of $10,000.
In the future, that law "will make a difference," said Ingham County Prosecutor John J. Dewane.
Investigators are still investigating the case and there could be additional charges filed.
[SOURCE]
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