A Michigan man charged with the accidental shooting death of a 2-year-old son has pled guilty, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
According to federal authorities, Avis Damone Coward, 22, of Lansing, acknowledged to having a 9mm and a.45-caliber weapon in the child’s mother’s car in October 2023 when one of the pistols unintentionally discharged, mortally killing the infant.
According to officials, Coward got out of the car at a Lansing gas station, leaving the toddler and his mother inside. A minute later, a bullet hole emerged in the glass, and the boy’s mother, Emma Huver, 26, got out of the car, carrying her child. When she exited the car, a gun fell out.
As the child was led inside the gas station, Coward grabbed up the gun and broke through the front passenger window, which had a bullet hole from the shooting, before driving away. The child died of his injuries.
According to officials, Coward instructed two others to pick up and hide the guns. Gina Schieberl, 26, has pled guilty to conspiring with Coward to tamper with evidence. Schieberl admits to moving the automobile to keep authorities from discovering it. The truck was later discovered damaged after it had been set on fire. Huver pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of guns.
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Huver and Schieberl are set to be sentenced on September 16 and October 21, respectively.
“There was nothing inevitable about the senseless death of this two-year-old child,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten in a statement. “This incident is just one example of the dismal reality we face: gun violence is now the leading cause of mortality among our youngest Americans, aged 0 to 19. We cannot bring this innocent child back, but these guilty pleas are a crucial step in ensuring justice and sending a message that careless gun owners will be held accountable.”
Source: cbsnews.com