Two-Year-Old Dies in Gun Accident at U.S. Home... Father Arrested for Leaving Pistol Unattended

Loaded Bullets... No Pistol Storage Safe Either

The photo is for illustrative purposes only and is unrelated to the content of the article. [Asia Economy Archive Photo]

A two-year-old baby in the United States was critically injured after shooting herself in the head with her father's handgun. The police have charged the child's father with nine serious crimes, including first-degree child abuse.

According to the Associated Press and other sources, Michael Tolbert (44), who lives in Flint, Michigan, underwent an arraignment procedure on the 19th. An arraignment is a process under U.S. criminal law where the defendant is informed of the charges and asked to admit or deny them.

Tolbert's two-year-old daughter accidentally shot herself in the head on the 14th while handling a handgun at home. Tolbert immediately took his daughter to the hospital, but she remains in critical condition. Police investigating the case found two guns in Tolbert's bedroom: a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun. Both guns were loaded with bullets and had their safety mechanisms disengaged. There was no safe or gun lock device at the scene to securely store the firearms.

Tolbert had previously been convicted multiple times for gun and drug-related offenses, which prohibited him from owning firearms and ammunition. He is also charged with violating this prohibition by possessing guns and ammunition.

If Tolbert is found guilty of failing to securely store firearms, he could face a maximum life sentence as a repeat offender. Additionally, he could receive a life sentence for first-degree child abuse. The incident occurred the day after Michigan's new gun regulation law, which mandates safe storage of firearms in the presence of minors, went into effect. Tolbert is the first defendant to be charged under this law.

The law was enacted one year after a mass shooting at Michigan State University in February last year, which resulted in the deaths of three students. In Michigan, a school shooting occurred in November 2021 at a high school in Oxford near Detroit, killing four people. The perpetrator's mother, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury on the 6th for aiding and abetting the crime.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.