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WHEATFIELD, Ind. (CBS) — Kandice Cole longs for the beingness she knew earlier her 4-year-old son, Eric, recovered a loaded weapon astatine a babysitter's house.
In September, she stood successful her surviving room, surrounded by images of him. A country erstwhile filled with his laughter is present a reminder of his absence. His toys present beryllium untouched. A small hoops hoop hangs from the closet door. Toy cars and enactment figures enactment the shelves. A small league photograph sits supra the entryway.
"A beingness ago," Cole said. "Because I miss him, and I don't get to marque immoderate caller memories. All the ones I person are conscionable connected replay."
Eric is 1 of dozens of children who recovered an unsecured gun and unintentionally changeable themselves oregon others successful Indiana. He's besides 1 of hundreds of children who were killed by guns successful Indiana implicit the past 20 years, a CBS News Chicago probe found. This each happened successful a authorities that has failed to walk weapon retention legislation, which advocates said could forestall deaths similar his.
"I speech astir it due to the fact that I privation to prevention different parents the heartache," Cole said. "I privation to prevention different kids similar I wasn't capable to prevention him."
Not an "accident"
It was the greeting of Aug. 5, 2017. Kandice and her husband, Ronald, had to work. Her brag volunteered to ticker Eric and Kandice's 7-year-old daughter.
"I conscionable ne'er thought to ask, bash you person a gun? Is it locked up? And that's 1 of the main things that I privation I could spell backmost and archer myself," Kandice said.
At 1 point, the babysitter near the children with his fiancé astatine his Winfield home, tribunal records said. His fiancé stepped distant to spell to the bathroom. It was past that Eric recovered an unsecured, loaded .40-caliber handgun belonging to the babysitter, and changeable himself. It was 2 weeks earlier his 5th birthday.
"We planned a day enactment and ended up readying a funeral," Kandice said. "I woke up with 2 kids, and I had to spell to slumber with lone one."
Initial quality reports and officials called Eric's decease an accident. But describing shootings similar his that way, alternatively than arsenic preventable, lone deepens Kandice's pain. She believes it strips the weapon proprietor of accountability.
"It was 'accident' everywhere," Kandice said. "'It was conscionable an accident. Just a horrible accident.' And we weren't good accepting that."
The babysitter successful her son's lawsuit would aboriginal admit successful tribunal that "he did not decently secure" his handgun, records show.
Gun violence: A bigger picture
Shootings like the ones that killed Eric are portion of a larger communicative of weapon unit successful Indiana. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Everytown ranked Indiana arsenic 1 of the states with the weakest weapon information laws, successful portion due to the fact that it does not person a instrumentality that requires safely storing firearms.
In 2023, Indiana had astatine slightest 27 unintentional shootings by children nether 18 years old, resulting successful 9 deaths, according to Everytown. That's astir doubly the totals recovered successful Illinois, wherever harmless weapon retention is required by law.
CBS News Chicago Investigators besides analyzed CDC information implicit a 20-year period. From 1999 to 2020, determination were 804 children nether 18 years aged killed by guns successful Indiana. This could beryllium a homicide, suicide, oregon an unintentional shooting similar Eric's.
Nearly 24%, oregon 191 shootings, were successful Eric's Northwest Indiana assemblage alone. The complaint of kids killed by guns successful Northwest Indiana is treble the nationalist rate.
Indiana is 1 of 24 states without laws requiring harmless firearm storage, meaning guns locked and unloaded. Some lawmakers, similar Indiana State Rep. Maureen Bauer (D-House District 6), person attempted to walk laws aimed astatine holding weapon owners accountable if they don't safely unafraid their gun, and a kid gets a clasp of it. So far, these efforts person not been successful.
Bauer said it was a situation adjacent to walk a instrumentality past twelvemonth that requires each Indiana nationalist schools to nonstop location accusation astir however to safely store a firearm successful homes wherever children are present.
"Every policymaker should person to explicate wherefore that is the information and wherefore they aren't consenting to alteration it," Bauer said. "It's happening successful each community. It's not conscionable bluish districts."
The combat for legislation
Kandice besides struggled to get traction erstwhile sharing her communicative with immoderate lawmakers.
"It's an uphill battle," she said. "And you can't find a batch of Republicans to privation to enactment crossed the lines."
For years, weapon lobby groups similar the NRA person opposed projected bills that fortify retention accountability. While the NRA's website says it "supports storing firearms successful a liable manner," the enactment besides publically encourages members to reason laws and projected weapon retention bills. The radical argues retention requirements interruption their law rights and could forestall weapon owners from easy accessing their firearms.
This sentiment was made wide to Kandice successful 2018. She built up the courageousness to be the U.S. Senate statement successful Indiana and inquire the candidates if they would beryllium consenting to perpetrate to authorities to clasp negligent weapon owners criminally liable. One of the candidates was then-Republican senator, present Indiana Governor-elect Mike Braun.
"My 4-year-old lad Eric was killed astatine a babysitter's location erstwhile they near a afloat loaded handgun unsecured and easy accessible to children," Kandice said during the debate. "Would you enactment and would you sponsor a measure passing harmless retention laws, besides known arsenic kid entree prevention laws?"
Braun would not perpetrate to legislation.
"When it comes to things similar retention and truthful forth, I deliberation the places wherever we've tried to usage weapon laws mostly interaction the folks who are law-abiding," Braun said, successful part. He besides emphasized his endorsement from the NRA.
"I was the idiosyncratic present who's getting the NRA endorsement and arrogant of it due to the fact that I deliberation they privation to marque definite your Second Amendment rights are ne'er infringed," He said.
When reflecting connected her nationalist code to Indiana Senate candidates years later, Kandice criticized Braun's response. She rejected the thought that instrumentality abiding weapon owners would beryllium impacted by a harmless retention law.
"I'm not talking astir the Second Amendment," Kandice said. "I'm talking astir kids accessing guns."
"I deliberation it's precise casual to get those 2 issues conflated," Bauer agreed. "We're talking astir preventing the decease of children, which we each hold shouldn't beryllium happening."
Accountability and solutions
The weapon proprietor successful Eric's lawsuit served little than 2 years successful the Department of Corrections aft pleading blameworthy to reckless homicide and transgression recklessness, followed by clip successful a enactment merchandise program. He faced nary gun-related charges.
Kandice said she didn't consciousness that was enough.
"We didn't privation it to conscionable beryllium a slap connected the wrist and you get probation," she said. "Because we didn't get a slap connected the wrist."
"I don't deliberation 2 years is sufficient," she continued. "At the extremity of the day, you were the big who purchased that gun. You were the 1 who should person been the 1 to enactment it away."
CBS News Chicago recovered the result of the transgression lawsuit could person been antithetic successful a authorities with stronger weapon laws. Everytown ranked California arsenic having the strongest weapon authorities successful the country, successful portion due to the fact that of its retention law.
If Eric's decease happened successful California, his babysitter could person been charged with an further "criminal retention of a firearm" complaint and faced up to 3 years successful prison. If the weapon proprietor had been convicted of a first-degree felony connected that charge, helium would beryllium banned from owning a weapon for life.
To proceed her efforts successful grant of her son, Kandice joined the Be SMART consciousness campaign to beforehand liable weapon ownership and trim kid weapon deaths. The Centers for Disease Control besides recommends storing guns locked, unloaded, and abstracted from ammunition to forestall deaths similar Eric's. Many section constabulary departments connection weapon locks for free.
In summation to educating families to unafraid their firearms - and encouraging them to inquire astir unsecured guns successful different homes - Kandice is moving to combat the characterization that these shootings are accidents, alternatively than preventable. If the weapon had been successful a harmless oregon unloaded successful her lad Eric's case, she believes helium would beryllium live -- and 12 years aged -- today.
"You tin prevention people's lives for free. It's easy, conscionable fastener it up," she said. "When you person a weapon accessible, it makes it that overmuch easier, and you don't get a 2nd chance."
Kandice and her husband, Ronald, kept the doorway closed and avoided their surviving country successful the archetypal fewer years aft Eric's death. His photos, toys and the memories were excessively overmuch to bear. But that's changed.
"It made maine outcry then," she said. "It makes maine grin now."
"He's not conscionable a tragedy. He was a amusive and loving lad earlier that," she continued. "I tin support him everlastingly by helping dispersed consciousness and helping different parents recognize the value of asking."
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