MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Kristen Whitted, a St. Louis, Missouri woman, died alone in her car when she has struck by a stray bullet fired in a shootout between two cars on Interstate I-170. An innocent bystander, she “had no connection to the other vehicles and was caught in the crossfire.”

Kristen’s family released the following statement:

“Kristen always strived for more knowledge, wanting to know more about everything. Never settling on just the surface of a situation. She always got the most out of everything. It showed in her job and her cooking. She never stopped and never settled. Always moving and taking others along with her, it made it easy to open up to her. She was always available and gave an ear to all.”

The people involved in the shooting were gone before police arrived.

Source:

Rachel Rice, “Bridgeton Woman Killed in Crossfire of Gunfight on Interstate 170 was ‘Innocent Victim’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 2, 2020).

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From the Archives

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2023

Toddler Left Alone in Car Kills Self with Unsecured Gun

A 2-year-old boy shot and killed himself while left unattended in a car in Lansing, Michigan. “Both adults exited the vehicle, leaving the child in there with an unsecured firearm,” said the police chief. The toddler was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition, but later died. A 44-year-old man initially fled the scene, but was later found and arrested by police. So far, investigators have not been able to locate the gun.

The chief emphasized the need for gun owners to secure their weapons. “Do you want to be responsible for somebody like a 2-year-old child, the most innocent of the innocent, to get injured or die because you just didn’t secure your firearm?”

Update (December, 2023):

More information has emerged about this incident based on court proceedings. Avis Damone Coward was newly indicted by a grand jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, and tampering with evidence. He had originally been charged with accidental discharge of a gun leading to the child’s death.

On the day of the incident, surveillance video shows Coward exiting the vehicle, leaving the 2-year-old and his mother in the car. Minutes later a bullet hole appears in the car window; with the mother soon emerging from the vehicle holding her bloodied child, who was taken into the gas station to wait for medical personnel. Coward returned to the vehicle, picked up his gun that had fallen from the car, broke the window that had the bullet hole, and drove off. The car was found burned-out and abandoned with a .45 caliber Springfield Armory semiautomatic pistol. The barrel of the gun was disassembled and later found in the wall of a house in Lansing. The boy’s mother and another woman also face multiple charges.

Source:

McKoy Scribner, “Toddler Dies After Shooting Self with Unsecured Gun,” wins.com (October 26, 2023).

Sources for Update:

Phil Helsel, “Michigan Man Charged After Toddler Fatally Shoots Self With His Gun, Prosecutors Say,” nbcnews.com (December 13, 2023)

“New Charges in Case Related to Two-Year-Old Child In Lansing Who Died After Accidental Discharge of Gun,” justice.gov (December 13, 2023).

Shattered – The Gun Accident Journal

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