Three-year-old Girl Kills Herself After Finding Father’s Gun Under Couch Cushion

A three-year-old girl in Omaha, Nebraska, was killed after finding her father’s loaded gun under a couch cushion. The child’s three siblings and both parents were home when the accident happened. The toddler’s eight-year-old sibling, also had access to the gun, and told police that they often saw the gun on the couch or a side table in the basement when their father wasn’t home. The eight-year-old also said that the gun fired as they tried to take it away from their younger sister. The children’s mother confirmed that their father, Phuc Le, kept the gun under the couch cushion when he slept on the couch in the basement. Le admitted to police that he had consumed cocaine, and left the gun under the cushion that day before leaving for work, but normally kept it in a safe, removing the ammunition clip and making sure no bullet was in the chamber. When they opened the safe, officers found three rifles and cocaine. Le, was charged with child neglect resulting in death and cocaine possession. 

Source:

Gina Dvorak, Kevin Westhues, “Report: Sibling Said Gun That Killed 3-year-old Omaha Girl Often Found Sitting Out in Basement,” wowt.com (April 22, 2025).