Westland parents charged for shooting 5-year-old son under new safe storage law

In yet another parental responsibility case involving guns and children in Michigan, a Westland father and mother were charged Tuesday in the death of their 5-year-old son, who died at his own hands after finding his parents’ gun and killing himself accidentally shot. It.

According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, the gun was not properly stored when the boy found it in his home last week and fired it, fatally hitting himself in the stomach. His parents, Timothy Gravel, 32, and Heather LeBlanc, 29, both of Westland, now face charges under Michigan’s new secure storage law, which went into effect in February and allows prosecutors to hold parents criminally liable if their unsecured weapons end up in jail. the hands of minors who then kill or injure themselves or someone else with the weapon.

The Westland case is tragically similar to the deadly 2021 Oxford High School shooting in that it was also carried out by a boy who found his parents’ unsecured gun in the house — only that shooter used the gun to kill others, not himself. Michigan did not have a safe storage law when the shooting occurred. Yet his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, made history this year when they became the first parents in America to be charged in connection with a mass school shooting committed by their child. The couple was charged and ultimately convicted for failing to properly secure a gun, which cost the lives of four students. They are each serving ten years in prison, although they are both appealing.

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Their son, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence, although he is also appealing.

Meanwhile, the Westland couple face a similar fate to that of the Crumbleys due to an issue that resonated with the jury: the storage of their gun.

“Another young child is dead because adults failed to safely store their firearms – yes, that’s plural. This child’s death was completely and completely preventable. This is the seventh this year,” Prosecutor Worthy said in a statement announcing the charges.

According to Worthy, the incident occurred on Nov. 7 around 8:40 p.m., at a home on the 33000 block of Alamo Street in Westland, where the boy found his parents’ gun and shot himself with it. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The boy’s parents were arraigned Monday in 18th District Court. Gravel received a $50,000 cash bond; LeBlanc received a $25,000 cash bond. As of late Tuesday, it was not known if they had posted a bond. The two will appear at a probable cause conference on Nov. 21, where a judge will determine whether there is enough evidence to send the pair to trial in a case that could test the state’s new secure storage law.

If convicted, the couple faces up to 15 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. The couple’s lawyers could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Michigan’s new safe storage law, which went into effect on February 13, requires individuals to keep unattended guns unloaded and locked with a lock or in a locked box or container when it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on site. terrain.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Data shows that guns are involved in unintentional deaths among children and adolescents Often they were stored both loaded and unlocked, and occurred while the child was playing with it or showing the firearm to others.

If a person fails to properly store a firearm and a minor obtains the firearm and any of the following occur, he or she is guilty of the following:

• If the minor possesses or displays the firearm in a careless, reckless, or threatening manner in a public place or in the presence of another person, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail or a fine of up to $ 500, or both.

• If the minor fires the weapon and injures himself or another individual, it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

• If the minor fires the weapon and seriously impairs the bodily functions of himself or another person, it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $7,500 fine.

• If the minor fires the weapon and kills himself or someone else, it is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

According to MDHHS, firearms became the leading cause of death for children in the United States and Michigan in 2020, surpassing motor vehicle deaths and deaths caused by other injuries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds (67%) of unintentional firearm injury deaths among children and adolescents occurred while the shooter was playing with a gun or showing it to others. Overall, firearms used in accidental injury deaths were often stored unlocked (76%) and most of these unlocked firearms were also loaded (91%). Unlocked firearms were most often accessed from a bedside table or other sleeping area (30%).

Additionally, guns are involved in more than half of suicide deaths in Michigan.

For more information about gun safety and children, visit the MDHHS Firearm Safety website.

Contact Tresa Baldas: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Westland parents charged in shooting death of 5-year-old son under new law