Avis Damone Coward in a November 2023 mug shot.Photo:Ingham County Sheriff’s Office
Ingham County Sheriff’s Office
A Michigantoddler is deadand a convicted felon is now accused of illegally possessing the gun the boyaccidentally shot offwhile in the car with his mother at a gas station last month, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Avis Damone Coward is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, Mark Totten, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in thepress release, alleging that the 2-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, later died as a result of the accidental discharge at the Sunoco gas station in Lansing the afternoon of October 24.
Moments later, the child’s mother exited the car, holding her child with blood pouring from his head, prosecutors allege. And as she got out, Coward’s gun allegedly fell out of the car and onto the pavement.
Avis Damone Coward allegedly put his gun back in the vehicle just moments after the toddler accidentally shot himself, say prosecutors.U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Michigan
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Michigan
Firefighters rushed the toddler to a hospital for treatment that afternoon, but the child died the next night.
Avis Damone Coward.United States District Court/ Western District of Michigan
United States District Court/ Western District of Michigan
Totten called gun violence a “swelling epidemic” that “reaches our most innocent.”
Underan upcoming Michigan gun safety lawpassed earlier this year, gun owners must keep firearms “unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is or is likely to be present on the premises.”
If they do not and a child accesses the gun, causing a death, the gun owner faces up to 15 years behind bars and/or a fine of $10,000.
However, that law does not go into effect until March 2024, according to Ingham County Prosecutor John J. Dewane, so it will not be applicable in this case. In the future, that law “will make a difference,” Dewane said in an earlier statement about the toddler’s death.
Calling the toddler’s accidental shooting death “a parent’s worst nightmare,” Detroit Field Division Special Agent in Charge James Deir said in the statement announcing the charge that the “heartbreaking” case “reinforces the importance of responsible gun ownership and safety storage.”
“A child should never be left alone with a gun,” he continued in the statement. “Leaving the gun at home in a secure gun safe or using a safety device, such as a gun lock, prevents tragedies like this.”
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Deir urged that anyone who wants a free gun lock or more information on how to safely secure their firearms may contact the ATF Detroit Field Division.
The toddler’s case remains under investigation and there could be additional charges filed, an official from a local agency involved in the investigation tells PEOPLE.
It’s not immediately clear if Coward has retained an attorney.
For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visitBeSMARTforkids.org.
source: people.com
