Princeston Mace Copeland, age four, died from a gunshot wound on April 29, 2022, in a motel room on the Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette, Louisiana. During that short absence the child found a loaded handgun concealed in the bedsheets, apparently handled it and the firearm discharged, fatally wounding him.

Police investigators described the death as a tragic accident. The child’s father publicly disputed that finding, saying he believed negligence by the mother contributed to the death and calling for her to be prosecuted.

If anyone was in the area that morning or has information about how the firearm came to be in the motel room, please share what you know.