Boy, 3, Shoots Himself in Head, Dies

Dad posts on Facebook that he still supports gun rights
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2013 2:02 PM CDT
Boy, 3, Shoots Himself in Head, Dies
   (Shutterstock)

A 3-year-old Michigan boy is dead after shooting himself in the head yesterday, police say. They received a 911 call the Detroit News describes as "frantic" around 4:15pm; Damon Holbrook was found in the front bedroom of his Dundee home. The owner of the handgun involved was arrested on charges of manslaughter and gross negligence. Police say the unidentified 30-year-old man was friends with Damon's father and lived at his house, as did Damon's 10-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother, who were upstairs when the boy shot himself.

Police say the friend left the loaded gun on a closet floor, in an unlocked plastic case, and Damon was playing with it within five minutes of the friend arriving home from work. Damon's father posted about the tragedy on Facebook today, the Blade reports. "Yesterday I lost my 3yrd son to a gun accident. We r all hoping to wake up from this nightmare. ... I have nothing wrong with guns it's with this country was built on. I will still support the Second Amendment," he wrote. "All I ask is that everyone please, please safety first lock it up and put it out of reach of anyone that has no business being around a gun especially kids." (More gun safety stories.)

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