Four-year-old Chris L. Palmer Jr., a Black boy, died on July 2, 2015 in Hampton, Virginia, after finding a loaded handgun in his parents’ bedroom and being struck by a single, fatal gunshot. He was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. His mother, O’Quasha Jones, and his stepfather, LaShawn Stephenson, were in the home on West Chamberlin Avenue when the shooting occurred. Witnesses heard a gunshot and saw a man run from the house carrying the bleeding child.

In the days after the death, neighbors left cards and stuffed animals on the family’s front porch and held a candlelight vigil for the boy, who was remembered as joyful and active. The Hampton Police Division arrested 26-year-old LaShawn Stephenson and charged him with one count of felony child neglect for leaving a loaded firearm accessible; he was released on bond. What information could help clarify how the gun became accessible to the child?