Children in Michigan, Indiana and Idaho died in gun accidents today. 

The Michigan accident occurred in Canton Township.  Eight-year old Jack Bennett, an only child, died when a bullet discharged as his father was cleaning a gun.  According to his mother, Tammy Snyder, “[i]t was a freak accident. It was supposed to be an unloaded gun and my husband was just doing maintenance cleaning on it like he normally does. There wasn’t supposed to be any rounds in it or anything like that.”

Snyder added that  Jack “loved planes, trains, trucks, and said he wanted to be a garbage man when he grew up.  He loved going fishing with his dad, loved watching all kinds of movies, especially Nightmare Before Christmas.”

In Fairmount, Indiana, a two year old boy found a loaded gun and shot himself.  He was pronounced dead at the hospital.  The coroner said “it was reported that the toddler located a handgun in the home and discharged it, striking him.”

A later news story reported that the 2-year old, Leighton Owings, found the gun, a 9mm Ruger handgun, in another room while his mother was busy feeding his infant brother. “He loves his family and loved life,” according to a GoFundMe page seeking funds to pay for the boy’s funeral.

In Castleford, Idaho, an 11-year-old girl died Tuesday after a gun accidentally discharged in her home. No other information about the accident was released.

Sources:

Kim Russell, “Mom Blames a Tragic Accident for Shooting Death of her 8-year-old Son in Canton Township,” Fox17Online.com (December 16, 2020).

“2-year-old Boy Dead in Grant County after Finding, Firing Gun,” WISHTV.com (December 15, 2020).  

Jeff Truesdell, “Boy, 2, Fatally Shoots Himself by Accident While Mom Feeds His Infant Brother in Other Room: Police,” People Magazine (December 18, 2020).

Zac Ezzone, “Castleford Girl Dies Following Accidental Gun Discharge in Home,”  MagicValley.com (December 16, 2020).