A 4-year-old boy shot and killed himself Monday at the home of a baby sitter in Virginia, where a sheriff’s deputy in training also lives, officials said.
About an hour after Kyrin Falcetti dropped off 4-year-old Cole at the Orange County home, she and her husband got a chilling phone call that something had happened to her son. Somehow, he got hold of a loaded gun and shot himself.
"When we got there, it was just an atypical scene," said the boy's father, Josh Falcetti. "The cop cars, the ambulances, everyone's out front, so we knew something bad had happened."
The child was pronounced dead at the scene after noon, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
"I don't want to be burying my son," his mother said, clutching the stuffed toy Cole slept with every night. "He didn't do anything wrong."
Cole's family is waiting for word on charges. It is illegal in Virginia to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm where children can find it.
"If you have a weapon, gun safety," Josh Falcetti said. "It's something that they teach for any person that gets a weapon. Keep it secure. There's no reason a child should be within reach of any type of weapon whatsoever at any point in time."
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The Orange County Sheriff's Office is not releasing any further information until the investigation is complete.
The Stafford County sheriff's recruit who lives at the home was not present, and the gun was not a service weapon, officials said. The recruit's fiancée was babysitting at the home.
The recruit began working for the sheriff's office in December and enrolled in the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money for the family. The page called Cole "the most lovable boy in this entire world. All he wanted to do was give anyone he saw a hug and tell them all about his favorite movies and toys."
"So we're doing the best we can to provide for him as his parents still," Cole's father said.
