Father facing charges after 2-year-old fatally shot himself, prosecutor says

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM/Gray News) - A toddler died after shooting himself on Wednesday and his father is now facing charges, according to officials in Michigan.

Officers with the Flint Police Department’s Major Crime Unit were dispatched to an East Philadelphia Avenue home for a report of a shooting at about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday.

When police arrived, they found the victim, a 2-year-old boy, with a gunshot wound to his head, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.

The toddler’s 26-year-old father was at the home at the time of the shooting. He initially told officers the boy shot himself with an airsoft gun, according to Leyton.

WARNING: Some may find details in the story disturbing.

Officers then followed the blood trail to an upstairs bedroom where they located a Glock 22 40-caliber pistol, Leyton said, adding that the gun was registered to a 31-year-old Flint man who does not have a concealed firearm license.

The gun was found on a bed alongside a pool of blood and what appeared to be brain matter, investigators said.

According to Leyton, the toddler was taken to Hurley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 3:04 a.m.

Investigators determined the toddler’s father was with two cousins at the Philadelphia Avenue address earlier in the evening, Leyton said. One of the cousins was identified as the Flint man to whom the pistol was registered. The other was that man’s brother, a 25-year-old Flint Township man, who does have a CPL.

Investigators executed a search warrant, and said a strong odor of marijuana was detected at the home. They determined the men were smoking marijuana, according to Leyton said. Officials said they believe the cousins left the Philadelphia Avenue address at around 1 a.m.

At some point, the toddler’s father heard a gunshot and found him with the pistol and the wound, according to Leyton.

Investigators searched the property and found a trail of blood going from outside the home to the living room, where there was also a large amount of blood, Leyton said. The blood continued up the stairs to the bedroom, where investigators found a bag of a “leafy green product” suspected of being marijuana.

Detectives also discovered the pistol was loaded with a magazine containing 15 live rounds, Leyton said. There was a fired cartridge casing still in the magazine well of the pistol.

The prosecutor said there was a large pool of blood on the bed’s pillows and a bullet hole was found in the ceiling directly above. Investigators retrieved a fired slug from the ceiling.

“This is a terrible tragedy. A little 2-year-old guy, he’s gone,” Leyton said.

Arrest warrants for the father and two cousins have been drafted by the prosecutor’s office and submitted to the district court.

Leyton said the father, who was not initially identified by WNEM because he has not been arraigned yet, is facing charges that include violation of Michigan’s safe storage law causing death, involuntary manslaughter, felon in possession of a firearm, lying to a police officer regarding a violent crime investigation, possession of a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance and three counts of felony firearm.

“Under Michigan’s safe storage law, the owner of the residence is responsible and the owner of the firearm is also responsible, so there’s no excuse. You have to lock up a firearm and store it if there’s a minor present,” Leyton said.

The man’s cousins facing the charges that include violation of Michigan’s safe storage law causing death, involuntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance and two counts of felony firearm.

Michigan’s safe storage law took effect in February. It requires weapons to be unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a lockbox if it is reasonably known that a child is likely going to be at the location.

“You need to lock your gun in a securely locked box if there’s a minor child in the house because a little child is going to be curious,” Leyton added. “They’re going to get their hands on that gun, they’re not going to understand the ramifications of pulling the trigger and we’re going to have a dead 2-year-old boy.”

This isn’t the first time a child in Genesee County shot themselves since the law took effect.

In February, a day after the measure went into place, a 3-year-old girl shot herself in the head in Flint. She survived and her father is facing multiple felonies, including violation of the Michigan safe storage of firearms law.

“I want the public to know I’m going to enforce this law to the fullest extent,” Leyton said.

Michigan State Police said there are resources available for parents and gun owners. Each state police post has gun locks available to residents by request.

The incident involving the 2-year-old remains under investigation.

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