Flint man becomes first person charged under Michigan’s new gun storage law

FLINT—A Michigan man was charged Tuesday under the state’s new law requiring safe storage of guns after his 2-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver the day after the law took effect.

The 44-year-old Flint man became the first person to be charged with violating the law that took effect on Feb. 13, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said. The girl is hospitalized in critical condition.

This law “went into effect one week ago today,” Leyton said at a news conference announcing charges against the man. “This incident occurred the very next day.”

The man faces charges including first-degree child abuse, a felony violation of Michigan’s gun storage law, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and lying to a police officer in a violent crime investigation.

Flint police learned of the shooting after the man took the girl to a hospital. They found two guns in the bedroom of the man’s home: the revolver and a semiautomatic pistol. Both were unsecured and loaded. Police said they found no gun locks or safes in the bedroom.