The fatal shooting last week of a 2-year-old toddler by his 3-year-old brother doesn't merit criminal charges, a southern Idaho prosecutor said Thursday. Brandon Herrera died early Oct. 14 at a Boise hospital after being shot with a six-cylinder, .22 caliber revolver inside his family's home in Rupert, a small sugar beet farming town about 165 miles east of Idaho's capital city.
Rupert Police Department officials concluded during a weeklong investigation that the 3-year-old boy found his grandfather's loaded revolver in an unsecured gun safe located inside the family's home.
The 3-year-old had apparently been playing with the revolver for some period prior to the shooting, because his hand showed a slight pinch wound from where it had been injured while trying to cock the hammer, said Minidoka County Prosecutor Lance Stevenson.
"This tragedy serves as a significant reminder of the importance of safe storage practices regarding firearms and ammunition, as well as the importance of sound gun safety practices," Stevenson said. "Safety cannot be emphasized enough, particularly when children are or could be in the proximity of firearms."
Herrera was flown via emergency airlift from a hospital in Rupert to Boise for treatment, but died about 12 hours later.
The grandfather owns the home where the two boys and their mother have been living. The mother was in the home at the time of the shooting, but in another room.
Stevenson said his office considered a variety of factors before concluding not to pursue criminal prosecution against adults in the incident.
For one, the children had been asked not to enter the room where the guns were located, he said.
And family members also told authorities that they believed the gun safe, which held additional weapons, couldn't be opened by a youngster.
Stevenson said the 3-year-old opened the gun safe. He retrieved the pistol, cocked the hammer and then pulled the trigger.
Still, Stevenson said police investigators don't believe that the weapon was intentionally pointed at the victim when it fired.
"He had the gun, he was looking at the gun, it just so happened to be pointed at his brother when the gun went off," Stevenson said.
Following the shooting, the 3-year-old has been staying with his father, who does not live in the home where the incident took place.
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