GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Three people have been charged in connection to a two-year-old who had been accidentally shot in Lansing this fall.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of Michigan (DOJ) says Avis Coward left a car while at a gas station Oct. 24, leaving the toddler and his mom inside. One minute later, a bullet hole becomes visible in one of the vehicle’s windows as reportedly evidenced in surveillance video.
We’re told the mother, 26-year-old Emma Huver, left the vehicle with the 2-year-old. Blood was allegedly visible on the child’s face. The gun fell outside of the vehicle as she got out. Coward then handed the child to someone else, who tried to stop the bleeding inside the gas station until first responders showed up.
Coward then picked up the gun and returned it inside the vehicle before shattering the window with the bullet hole, according to the DOJ. Coward drove off, and the child passed away.
Federal attorneys say the car was later found scorched and abandoned in a field. A semiautomatic pistol was reportedly found inside a Lansing home with the barrel hidden behind a wall.
Coward has since been charged with felon in possession of a firearm, evidence tampering and conspiracy to tamper with evidence, according to the DOJ. Huver was charged with felon in possession of a firearm, and 26-year-old Gina Schieberl was charged with evidence tampering and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
“For the first time ever, gun violence is the leading cause of death for kids in America,” says U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Nothing more horribly illustrates this crisis than the death of an innocent two-year-old child. The cure demands an all-hands approach and my office will play its part by ensuring accountability for those who put children in harm’s way.”
