Two-year-old Tevita Puniani Maile died after a shooting in his Salt Lake City home on the night of May 26, 2018. Police responded about midnight to 2782 S. Fair Isle Lane after a report of a gunshot and found the child unconscious; he was later pronounced dead. His father’s shirt was stained with blood at the scene.

According to court documents, Tevita’s father, Tasman William Maile, told officers he had been sleeping with a handgun next to him and woke to the sound of a gunshot. Investigators say the loaded firearm with the safety off was routinely kept under his pillow within the child’s reach, and the toddler found and fired the weapon. Tasman Maile was arrested and charged; he pleaded guilty in July to a reduced negligent homicide charge along with obstructing justice, three counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and drug distribution. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with credit for time served.

What information do readers have about safety practices or circumstances in that home that could help clarify how such an unsecured firearm was left accessible to a toddler?