Man Kills 11-Year-Old Nephew While Showing Off Gun's Laser Sight
A man accidentally shot and killed his 11-year-old nephew on Saturday as he demonstrated the laser sight on one of his guns by pointing it at the boy's head.
The boy, identified by WNEP as Hunter Pedersen, was visiting his grandfather's home in Delaware Township, Pennsylvania on Saturday when he asked his uncle, who lives in the home's basement with his son, to see his gun collection.
The uncle, 34-year-old Chad Olm, obliged and showed the boy and his son several weapons—all of which Olm claimed were unloaded—from his locked gun safe, including a .357, a .22 and a 9 mm. As he was showing Pedersen another a .40-caliber Glock 27, Olm decided to demonstrate the gun's laser sight.
"Look, you have a red dot on your forehead," Olm recalled one of the boys saying, according to court records obtained by the Pocono Record.
At that point, the 11-year-old reached for the gun, causing Olm to accidentally pull the trigger.
The bullet struck the child in the forehead, above an eye. He began bleeding and fell over.
When police arrived, the child's body was found on the floor of the bedroom and there was a single bullet hole in the corner of the room, near the ceiling. The gun was on the clothes washer in the laundry room.
The victim's parents were not there at the time of the incident. They arrived after police.
Olm was arrested on charges of criminal homicide, recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of children.
"It's horribly tragic. The family is devastated," Blooming Grove State Police station commander Lt. Chris Paris said. "It goes to show that the safe handling of firearms is a must. The family has lost something that they can never replace."