Docs: Prosecutor uses ‘red flag’ law to seize guns after child pulls trigger in Avon
AVON, Ind. (WISH) — An Avon man faces criminal charges and has had his guns seized after prosecutors say his niece got his gun and pulled the trigger.
Brandon Clark, 25, was charged in the case. The Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion to have the Avon Police Department seize Clark’s guns under Indiana’s “red flag” law and a judge approved the motion on Thursday afternoon.
Avon police were called around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday to the the 7300 block of Glensford Drive. That’s near Rockville Road and Avon Avenue.
When officers arrived, they found Clark’s niece and mother suffering from gunshot wounds.
According to court documents, Clark’s sister was at the residence to discuss self-defense with him and was considering purchasing a gun for herself.
He initially brought out a gun without an external safety, according to what his sister told police. She said Clark took the gun apart, putting the the barrel on a couch before the child grabbed the barrel and was told to put it down.
Clark then brought several more loaded guns out to show to his sister with only one in a holster, according to investigators.
While unloading one of the guns, the child grabbed and fired one of the guns. Clark told police he was trying to unload them while on the couch.
The shot injured the girl’s leg while her grandmother, who was sitting on a recliner while on the telephone, was shot in the breast. She later told police that the child, who lives with in the home with Clark, is known to be a “naturally curious child and that she likes to get into everyone’s business,” according to court documents.
Clark, who told police he was an Army infantryman, used a dog leash to make a tourniquet on his niece’s leg.
Clark appeared in court on Thursday afternoon for an initial hearing. A hearing on Oct. 13 will determine whether or not he gets his guns back from police.
WISH-TV’s Investigative Reporter, Richard Essex, contributed to this report. Essex interviewed Dr. Jody Madeira of Indiana University law school in Bloomington who expressed her thoughts on the shooting.
“This seems to be more of an issue of irresponsibility and you can have criminal irresponsibility, and that certainly makes someone dangerous, but I believe the red flag law sort of envisions someone that is dangerous because of a mental condition or a violent propensity that is intentional and the product of mental illness. In states like Indiana where there are so many gun right protections, there are very few tools for handling the careless individuals. Really what the laws are geared towards, I believe, are the individuals with demonstrable mental health conditions that are unmedicated.”
Dr. Jody Madeira of Indiana University law school in Bloomington
