Father of Detroit 5-year-old dead from accidental shooting pleads for people to secure their guns

Detroit father 'never thought' unsecured gun would claim son

Detroit police first responded over the weekend to the area of Greenfield and McNicols. Authorities say Sturlin Minion Jr. had been with his four siblings unsupervised. He was jumping on the bed in the apartment when he found the handgun, later pulling the trigger.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Sturlin Minion Sr. never thought a tragedy like the accidental shooting of a child would strike him so close. But over the weekend, he became the latest parent to suffer the loss of one of his kids when his 5-year-old found an unsecured gun and shot himself.

"This stuff has been happening a lot with people's kids - a lot - and I never thought my son would be a victim of this," he said.

Not even 24 hours earlier, Minion had gotten out of jail after being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Alongside the child's mother, Halisa Lloydnette-Christine Brown, 25, has been left to manage the fallout of a misplaced weapon not secured in their home.

"I had a call that my son had gotten shot and I came as fast as I could because I was down there doing maintenance," he said, "and I got a call. When I got here, the mother was already up there holding my son on the ground."

"He was like my best friend. He understood me in ways like most kids I got, don’t. It’s really heartbreaking," said the 33-year-old father.

Sturlin Markese Minion and Halisa Lloydnette-Christine Brown

He said the weapon belonged to Brown.

"The gun was in her name. Everything. It was her firearm. She must have misplaced it for them to get access to it," he said.

Minion said he wasn't allowed to be near firearms due to being on probation. He said the tragic scene is a lesson for all parents to secure their guns.

"If you’re going to keep a firearm, please have it up safely and properly with the locks on it and everything," he said.

Kids-TALK Children's Advocacy Center works with abused and neglected children, but also collaborates with Detroit police to raise awareness and educate individuals on the importance of securely storing firearms in households.

Expert weighs in on trauma of unsecured gun accidents involving children

Kids-TALK Children's Advocacy Center collaborates with the Detroit police to raise awareness and educate individuals on the importance of securely storing firearms in households.

"You just feel so badly for the families. The brothers and sisters – a lot of times other little ones that see what happened, and that’s going to take them a while to heal from that," said Melanie Richards, the director of Kids-TALK. "Children can heal but (they need) a lot of support."

A study by the scientific journal Injury Epidemiology states in nine out of every 10 child gun deaths, the firearm was unlocked and loaded. Most gun incidents involve boys, a majority are self-inflicted, and the shootings usually occur at the victim’s residence.

Whether the child survives or not, there’s still the issue of trauma.

"We know when a trauma has occurred, one of the biggest things is to keep children in their same routines as much as possible," Richards said. "If children are going to be OK, it’s because they have a supportive adult in their life. So that’s the number one thing we want families to know – that there is hope in healing. There are people to surround you and support you."