Thursday, June 16, 2011

Stepfather who taught firearm safety charged after unintentional shooting death of six-year-old girl

Jarred Dubois, of Fresno, California, has been charged with First Degree Criminal Storage of a Firearm following the unintentional shooting death of his six-year-old stepdaughter Emily. Emily was accidentally shot in the chest by her 2-year-old brother with a gun that belonged to Dubois. The boy found the loaded, unlocked handgun under his father's bed and shot his sister in front of two siblings.
According to Dubois' lawyer the gun was normally kept behind plastic storage containers under the bed but the couple had just purchased a new bed and not everything had been put back under the bed yet. "It was really just a matter of hours, less than a day, and it changed the whole circumstances," said the lawyer.
Dubois is a former Marine and has worked with the Sea Cadets youth program and the Boy Scouts for several years. He teaches firearm safety.
"He talked about how you should never point the gun, the barrel, at somebody when it's not loaded," said a 14-year-old boy who took classes with Dubois.
Police took 53 guns from the Dubois home following the shooting. His attorney said only 3 or 4 guns belonged to Dubois, the rest were his father's and rifles that were used in the Sea Cadet training. He said those rifles were locked in a gun safe in the garage. But police found another loaded, unlocked handgun in a closet, along with several unlocked rifles in the house. Five children, aged 2 to 15, lived in the home.

No comments: