Corsicana police say a 2-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head.
Police said Kinsler Davis found his father's handgun and fired it while his father was looking in a closet in the same bedroom.
The father called 911 around 8:46 p.m. Wednesday to report the shooting. The boy was transported initially to Navarro Regional Hospital, then moved to Children's Medical Center in Dallas by air ambulance.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's office contacted Corsicana police after 11 p.m. Wednesday to inform them the child had died.
Officers said the shooting is being ruled an accident.
“We never thought it would be so close to home. Just a tragic deal. We’ll be praying for the family,” says neighbor Rickie Holmes. Holmes is heartbroken by the death of his young neighbor and devastated to know it could have been prevented.
Police say Kinsler Davis’s dad thought his handgun had been put away in the bedroom, still there was not any sort of safety lock on the trigger. It went off, shooting the child in the head.
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“Childs don’t have any understanding. Getting a gun, it’s just a bad deal,” says Holmes.
Davis’ next-door neighbor tells NBC 5 that Kinsler’s dad used to be a store firearms manager and had a gun because the home had been broken into. He says recently, Kinsler has been in a phase of getting into everything.
“One mistake can cause a tragedy, and that’s what we have here, a tragedy,” says Holmes.
Holmes feels the father has been given the ultimate punishment, “Just losing his child’s going to be enough on him. That’s just enough right there.”
Kinsler, who neighbors say is named after the Texas Rangers’ player, Ian Kinsler, would have turned 3 next month.
Friends and relatives of the father and boy gathered for prayers Thursday afternoon at a Corsicana church.
"He's one of the nicest, most sincere, just a good man all the way around. A great dad. He's not an irresponsible man. It's just a tragic accident," said Pastor Steve Hayes of Grace Community Church.
Corsicana Police Chief Randy S. Bratton said the department will continue to investigate the incident and will refer to the district attorney's office to decide whether to present the case to a grand jury.
Bratton said the department is looking into "making a firearm accessible to a child" as a possible charge, among others, but the determination of charges would be up to a grand jury's decision, if the DA presents the case.
Child Protective Services has been informed of the investigation.
