Father plans to teach gun safety to honor slain 5-year-old
WHITE CLOUD, Mich. (WOOD) — Criminal charges haven’t done much to ease the pain that Domynic Dykstra feels every day.
On Thursday, prosecutors approved charges against Karl and Theresa Robart after Braxton Dykstra’s cousin accidentally shot and killed him with a 12-gauge shotgun last month inside their grandparents’ bedroom.
The couple was charged with a felony violation of Michigan’s new safe storage law involving the death of a minor. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.
“It doesn’t bring him back but (at least) there are consequences to their actions,” Domynic Dykstra told News 8.
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In an interview Friday, Dykstra spoke about his new mission; honoring Braxton’s memory and making sure other parents don’t have to feel the same pain he does.
Dykstra said he wants to work with lawmakers on gun safety laws and to hold parents more criminally liable for negligent actions. He also plans to become a certified weapons instructor and focus on child safety.
“I’ve got a guy that does CPL training and he used to work for Homeland Security. He’s fully on board to help me get everything I need to pursue what I need to do to help other parents and children and teach them gun safety,” he said.
For Dykstra, it starts with proper gun locks, something that would have saved his son.
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“As soon as (safe storage) law went into effect, which was Feb. 13, I want to say it was the following week, maybe two weeks after (that I bought my gun safe),” Dykstra said.
He said common sense can go a long way, but the law mandates parents go beyond that.
“(Even before I had a gun safe), they were always put up, out of sight, out of mind. I had easy access to them, but my children didn’t,” he explained.
MSP officials told News 8 that the couple was arrested Thursday afternoon by troopers after an arrest warrant was issued.
The shooting happened on April 1 at their home outside of Newaygo. The victim’s father told Target 8 that the 6-year-old found a shotgun behind a door in the corner of the Robarts’ bedroom.
Police reports filed by investigators say Dykstra was hit with a birdshot.
“(The gun) is never loaded. I know it was never loaded, and I keep (the gun) on safety,” Robart told police.
Dykstra doesn’t buy Karl Robart’s statements to the police.
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“He swears up and down that the shotgun was (not) loaded. That’s what he says. And I’m tired of hearing that because if it wasn’t, my son would still be here,” Dykstra said. “Maybe he didn’t load it and someone else did in the house, I don’t care. The gun should have never been in that spot.”
Investigators noted that a pistol and a loaded magazine were also found inside a dresser drawer in the same bedroom where the shooting took place, more long guns in the closet and ammo “all over” the house.
On the day of the shooting, Braxton, his sister and their mom – the Robarts’ daughter – had come to visit, said the state police detective who testified before a judge to obtain arrest warrants for the Robarts.
Also living in the home and present the day of the shooting, according to the detective, were the Robart’s other daughter and her six-year-old son, the cousin who accidentally shot Braxton.
Domynic Dykstra said the six-year-old’s mom should be criminally charged too for failing to supervise her son.
Dykstra told News 8 that he and his family had also lived with the grandparents at one point, more than five years ago. He said that, at that time, Braxton’s mom demanded that her dad move the shotgun, which was being stored behind a pellet stove in the living room.
Dykstra said he did not know where Robart moved the gun, but he believed it had been secured.
Dykstra says spreading knowledge that could have spared Braxton is one of the best ways to honor his son.
“I’m not done fighting for my child. I will keep fighting until the day I die,” he said. “I will go and get my instructor’s license so I can make an impact. And whether I help one child or 10 million, I don’t care. As long as I save one parent from this grief.”
Probable cause hearings for the Robarts are scheduled for May 16. Preliminary examinations are set for May 23. All hearings will be at the 78th District Court in White Cloud.
Dykstra says spreading the knowledge that could have spared Braxton is one of the best ways to honor his son.
“I’m not done fighting for my child. I will keep fighting until the day I die,” he said. “I will go and get my instructor’s license so I can make an impact. And whether I help one child or 10 million, I don’t care. As long as I save one parent from this grief.”
Probable cause hearings for the Robarts are scheduled for May 16. Preliminary examinations are set for May 23. All hearings will be at the 78th District Court in White Cloud.
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