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A gun shop owner demonstrates how a gun lock works on a handgun in Lynnwood, Wash., in October 2018. A bill before the Maine Legislature aims to prevent accidental shootings involving children by broadening the law and increasing penalties around unsafe gun storage. Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

The death of a 4-year-old Lewiston boy in a shooting this weekend comes as legislators prepare to debate toughening Maine’s laws on safe gun storage.

Police were called to 93 Pierce St. in Lewiston early Saturday morning for a report that a child had been shot in the head, Maine State Police said. The boy, later identified as Jasper Kyle McCoy, died three hours later at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Police are awaiting results of an autopsy before releasing their findings. As of Monday night, no charges had been filed.

The boy’s mother, Mikayla McCoy, declined to comment Monday, saying the death of her son was “no one’s business.” Earlier in the day, on social media, she had disputed the suggestion that Jasper had been shot by a sibling at their home.

Several people close to the investigation who requested to not be identified out of respect for the family said Monday that the child got hold of a firearm in the house and accidentally shot himself at about 5 a.m. Saturday.

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The 4-year-old’s death Saturday follows a number of accidental shootings in Maine in recent years.

A 5-year-old accidentally shot and killed herself with her father’s handgun in Scarborough in 2017. In Waterville in 2021, a 2-year-old was shot in the head when an older sibling accessed an unloaded firearm — which was secured in a closet — loaded it and fired a round.

Later that year in West Bath, a 2-year-old was injured by recoil when he found a loaded handgun by a nightstand and fired multiple shots, injuring his mother and father. A month later, a 4-year-old from Temple died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 4.6 million children live in homes with at least one loaded, unlocked firearm, and that firearms have been the leading cause of death for those ages 1-17 for the past four years. The latest data, collected in 2023, names firearms as the cause of nearly 2,600 deaths among children and teens.

A bill before the Legislature aims to prevent those tragedies.

Currently, gun owners in Maine can be prosecuted for unsafe storage if a child under 16 gains access to a loaded firearm without permission.

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LD 1120, which will soon come up for votes in the Maine House of Representatives, broadens the law to cover unloaded firearms and for those up to 18 years old. The bill also covers those who are prohibited from possessing firearms, such as convicted felons and people subject to protection orders, and increases penalties when the firearm is used to commit a crime or hurt someone.

“There have been too many stories in Maine where unsecured firearms have led to heartbreak — whether it’s a toddler shot in a domestic dispute or a person just out of prison using someone else’s weapon to kill,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Daniel Sayre, D-Kennebunk. “This bill is about making sure those weapons don’t end up in the wrong hands in the first place.”

SUPPORT FROM ADVOCATES, SAFETY GROUPS

According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, research shows that when guns are stored locked and unloaded, the risk of unintentional injury or death among children drops significantly. Compared to other causes of death, gun violence and suicide often pose a larger burden on society in terms of years of potential life lost, said Joe McHugh, a spokesman for the center.

“Years of potential life lost calculations estimate the average time a person would have otherwise been expected to live if they had not died prematurely,” he said. “In 2022, gun injury deaths accounted for 1,063,721 years of potential life lost before the age of 65 — more than diabetes, stroke and liver disease combined.”

Sayre said the issue of safe storage is a personal one for him.

“There’s a story in my own family that fortunately didn’t come to tragedy,” Sayre said. “But my father and uncle blew a hole in the wall when they were young boys, when they got ahold of their father’s rifle.”

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That incident shaped Sayre’s father’s view on guns. Despite his military background, Sayre’s father chose not to keep firearms in the house while raising his own children out of concern for safety.

Sayre said he introduced the bill after hearing about preventable tragedies across Maine, including the recent death of a toddler in a domestic dispute involving an unsecured firearm and the high-profile case of a man who killed four people with guns that were not his own shortly after being released from prison.

“The goal of the bill is to encourage firearm owners to take proper precautions when their guns are not under their personal control,” he said. “We already ask people to act responsibly — this adds a consequence when they don’t and someone gets hurt.”

Gun safety groups say strengthening preventive gun laws is long overdue.

“More than half of states already have secure storage laws,” said Nacole Palmer of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition. “Maine’s current laws are basic and don’t actually require firearms to be stored securely, which makes them less effective.”

Palmer said research shows that secure storage policies save lives, especially for children and teens: Households locking up both guns and ammunition had a 78% lowered risk of self-inflicted injuries and an 85% lowered risk of accidental firearm injuries among youth.

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Palmer said recent polling shows a strong public support for further gun safety measures: Some 79% of Maine voters favor secure storage laws that would require gun owners to use a locking device or storage container when firearms are not in their immediate possession.

“The laws that we are advocating for have broad support of Mainers because they are about responsible gun ownership — something the vast majority of gun owners in Maine believe in,” she said.

Support for stronger storage laws crosses party lines, with 88% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans in favor. Some 75% of gun owners who store firearms in their homes also support the proposed laws.

“We’re long past the point where we can say, ‘Well, it hasn’t happened here yet,’” Palmer said. “It has happened here. We saw that on Oct. 25 (the day of the Lewiston mass shooting). And we know from decades of public health data that safe storage works.”

OPPOSITION FROM GUN RIGHTS GROUPS

Still, several gun rights advocates say the legislation includes unrealistic preventive measures and argue that a one-size-fits-all mandate fails to consider rural Maine life and existing responsible gun ownership.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation cited a significant decrease nationally in accidental firearm deaths over the past two decades attributed to industry-led safety initiatives like Project ChildSafe. The group said mandated storage laws infringe upon individual rights and could keep law-abiding citizens from quickly accessing firearms in self-defense situations.

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Gun Owners of Maine raised concerns about the bill’s public awareness provision requiring firearm dealers and gun shows display approved signage cautioning customers about secure storage and the perils associated with gun ownership, such as increased risk of suicide, domestic violence and unintentional shootings. Dealers who fail to post signage could face a civil fine of up to $200. The organization argued compliance could not be possible under the bill’s current language.

The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine also opposes LD 1120 for fear that it may criminalize law-abiding citizens and detract from existing educational programs promoting safe firearm storage. SAM emphasized there are already laws addressing reckless firearm storage.

“(SAM) has introduced and passed legislation to create incentives for safe storage, including a sales tax exemption for gun safes and lock boxes. We have also created programs like the Safer Homes program to educate on the importance of safe storage,” the organization said in their testimony against LD 1120. “We are doing good work and bills like L.D. 1120 and 1299 detract from this important work … There are enough laws on the books to address reckless storage of a firearm.”

Sayre, the bill’s sponsor, said more can always be done to ensure firearms are stored safely. Palmer emphasized that secure storage laws create a critical barrier between curiosity or suicidal ideation and access to firearms.

“Kids and toddlers are naturally curious, and if a gun is left out, tragedy can happen,” Palmer said. “For teens, unsecured firearms are a significant factor in suicide risk. Maine high school students report worrying rates of suicidal thoughts — requiring safe storage lowers those risks.”

Palmer added that in over 70% of nationwide school shootings, firearms were obtained from the shooter’s own home or from that of someone close.

“Safe firearm storage isn’t just a recommendation — it’s a responsibility we all share to protect our families and communities,” Sayre said. “This bill reinforces that commitment and ensures there are consequences when firearms aren’t secured.”

Sun Journal Staff Writer Mark LaFlamme contributed to this report.

Joe Charpentier came to the Sun Journal in 2022 to cover crime and chaos. His previous experience was in a variety of rural Midcoast beats which included government, education, sports, economics and analysis,...