The police chief in Danville, New Hampshire was cited Friday
with improperly storing his service firearm after a 15-year-old used it to
commit suicide, CNN reports.
Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams claims Police Chief
Wade Parsons left his firearm on top of the safe in his closet, and his
girlfriend’s son used it to kill himself on March 11 after Parsons left to run
some errands.
“New Hampshire has a specific statute that requires when
people own firearms that’s they make sure that children can’t gain access to
those firearms,’’ Reams said. “That’s the statute we are alleging was violated
on March 11 in Danville.’’
“It is my hope that out of this tragedy will come increased
awareness by gun owners that they are responsible for the way they store their
weapons,” Reams told reporters Friday, according to Boston.com.
One local resident described Parsons as “the nicest guy
you’ll ever find,” and another said it would be “a lot different” if the weapon
had been “out in the open” and an 8-year-old stumbled upon it.
“This was not the case. This was the case of a person that
was looking to do harm to themselves, and that was just one means of making it
happen,” he added.
And according to reports, there was no indication that the
15-year-old was thinking of taking his own life. Reams said there was “no clear
explanation” for his decision.
A court date has not yet been set, according to Boston.com,
but the charge carries a maximum fine of $1,000. Since Parsons is an elected
official, it would take a felony conviction to see him dismissed from office.
“Nobody feels worse about this than the police chief,” Reams
reportedly said. “But I hope it’s a reminder to people in New Hampshire to make
sure that children don’t have unsupervised access to firearms. That’s the
statement our legislature has made. We expect people to live up to it.”
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