Gabriel Joseph Hojnacki was 13 when he died on Saturday, May 28, 2022, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A seventh grader at Kenowa Hills Public Schools, Gabriel enjoyed outdoor activities such as snowboarding, skateboarding, fishing and riding with his bicycling group the Big Rippers 616. The shooting occurred that Saturday evening at a residence on Alpine Avenue Northwest when a .45 caliber handgun discharged while Gabriel and a friend, also 13, were handling it; the bullet struck Gabriel in the chest and he died shortly after being taken to a local hospital.

Police initially described the shooting as accidental. The friend present was taken into custody and charged with careless discharge of a firearm causing death; his name has not been released because he is a juvenile. The firearm’s owner, identified as George Jay Gross Jr., was later charged by the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office with involuntary manslaughter after investigators found the handgun stored unlocked in his bedroom dresser. The family expressed gratitude that charges were brought.

If anyone knew Gabriel or has information about safely storing firearms in homes with children, please share what you know.