Chavous McKinley IV, known as Boonie, was three years old when he died on September 24, 2018, at his family’s home on Oxpens Road in Warrenville, South Carolina. The African American toddler found his father’s Glock 42 .380-caliber handgun and accidentally discharged it, receiving a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to Augusta University Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, where he later died.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office investigated and the Aiken County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy; the death was ruled an accident and no charges were filed against the parents. Funeral services were held on September 29, 2018, at Zion Fair Missionary Baptist Church in Aiken. Chavous was born June 11, 2015, to McKinley Chavous III and Sasha Butterfield Chavous and was remembered as a happy child who loved his twin sister.

Did anyone in the Warrenville area know the family or have information about safety measures that could prevent similar tragedies?