Prosecutors reviewing charges after 6-year-old boy fatally shoots self
On Sunday, Indianapolis police launched a death investigation after a 6-year-old boy got ahold of his family's gun and pulled the trigger, fatally shooting himself.
The case is the latest example of a child accessing a firearm and accidentally discharging it. In the worst-case scenario, like Sunday’s shooting, the child shoots themselves and dies.
Indianapolis police started tracking accidental shootings after noticing an uptick in recent months. In 2022, 16 people 17 years old or younger were accidentally shot. As of April 18, seven minors have been injured in accidental shootings. Another three have died.
When it comes to similar cases in years past, a number of neglect cases have been filed when a child has accessed an unsecured firearm, according to a spokesman for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.
The prosecutor's office said every case is different, however, when it comes to what charges are typically levied.
No arrests or charges have been announced in Sunday’s shooting at an east-side apartment complex on John Jay Drive. The family of the boy, identified as Billy Ray Mack II, declined an interview while the case remains open. In an online fundraiser, a relative said the gun Mack II used was the family's "protection weapon."
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office on Thursday said its investigation into the shooting is still under review.
More: Boy, 3, shoots his hand in latest example of dangerous growing trend in Indianapolis
Past cases
A number of Indianapolis parents have been charged with neglect in the past several years after a child has accessed their firearm.
In January, prosecutors charged the father of a 4-year-old boy captured on live TV waving a handgun in the air and at one point, pointing the weapon at his head with his finger on the trigger. Shane Osborne was charged with dangerous control of a firearm and two counts of neglect of a dependent.
In 2016, an Indianapolis father was sentenced to six years in community corrections and 14 years probation after pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent following the death of his 3-year-old son, who took his loaded handgun on the kitchen counter and shot himself in the head. The gun had no safety or lock on it, and eight other firearms were found in the home.
Prosecutors that year charged another Indianapolis father with neglect of a dependent after the man's 2-year-old son grabbed his gun from the dresser and fired, striking his 4-year-old daughter and his girlfriend. He was given a 10-year sentence, five of those suspended, after pleading guilty to the neglect charge.
The following year, prosecutors charged a 23-year-old mother with neglect after her 3-year-old son fatally shot his 5-year-old sister with a handgun he found in her purse. The mother told police she didn't put the gun that day on a closet shelf where she usually kept it. She pleaded guilty to a neglect charge and was sentenced to one year of probation.
Bills promoting gun storage safety die in the state legislature
At the Indiana Statehouse, a number of efforts were made this session to bolster gun lock and storage laws, but to no avail.
House Bill 1347 called for a state income tax credit for gun owners who undergo qualified firearm instruction or buy a proper gun storage device.
Another bill, House Bill 1471, required firearm owners to keep their guns locked and unloaded, and store their ammunition in a separate location. Violators could be charged with a Level 6 felony.
Senate Bill 358 established a fund to provide schools and non-profit organizations with training about firearm safety in the home, particularly in homes with children, as well as firearm suicide prevention. Among other measures, it includes language defining "neglect of a dependent" to include how firearms are stored. Hoosiers could face criminal penalties in cases where an unsecured, loaded firearm, together with its ammunition, are placed where children can reasonably gain access to them.
House Bill 1366 would have prohibited a person from storing a loaded firearm at home in a way that a child could likely gain access to the firearm. Among other measures, the bill spells out what misdemeanor and felony charges violators could face, should it have become law.
None of the bills made it out of committee.
Contact Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Prosecutors reviewing charges after 6-year-old boy fatally shoots self
