2-year-old who shot, killed self is child of Dearborn police corporal

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Sunday evening, a Howell 2-year-old was able to get their hands on an unsecured weapon and kill themselves. Now, we've learned the toddler is the child of a Dearborn police corporal.

Neighbors in Howell are still expressing shock at what happened just 24 hours before. Around 6 p.m., police said a 2-year-old found an unsecured gun and pulled the trigger. The child was rushed to the hospital but later pronounced dead.

"(I'm) devastated. Horrible tragedy. I’ve never seen anything like this," said neighbor John McGlinchey. "From my front door, I could see after a while what I take to be a paramedic carrying a child from the garage to the ambulance."

McGlinchey said he didn't know much about the family and Howell Police are not giving any other additional information.

However, FOX 2 has learned that the father of the child is a corporal in the Dearborn Police Department.

We reached out to Dearborn Police for comment about the tragedy and received this statement:

"This incident is a very serious personal family matter, and we respect the privacy of the Officer and his family during this difficult time."

Investigators will not say who the unsecured gun the toddler found belongs to and the investigation is ongoing

The corporal made headlines in 2012 when he was then an officer for the Dearborn Police Department. He pulled over a car and became extremely upset with a passenger who did not tell him her HIV status, so he could wear gloves.

The passenger did receive a ticket for illegal marijuana possession and the case soon became a legal matter, resulting in The city of Dearborn agreeing to pay $40,000 to the passenger. 

People with HIV are not required to inform police of their status.