Three-year-old Peter D. Bunce was killed on June 26, 2021, in Barre, Vermont, after finding a loaded Glock 26 semiautomatic handgun left in a bedside table drawer at the home of his uncle and the uncle’s girlfriend, Rebecca Post. Peter was visiting with his father and siblings; his father, Greg Bunce, was in the bathroom for a few moments and heard a gunshot. The child accidentally shot himself and died at the scene.

Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault declined to bring criminal charges against Rebecca Post, citing Vermont law at the time, which did not prohibit keeping a loaded, unlocked firearm inside one’s own home. Peter’s parents, Greg and Evelyn Bunce, subsequently filed a negligence suit against Post and a separate lawsuit against Glock alleging the company’s weapons lack essential safety mechanisms. Peter’s death was a cited impetus for Vermont’s new safe storage law that criminalizes negligent firearm storage that results in misuse.

If anyone knew Peter or has information about the circumstances that night, please share what you know.