On the evening of November 20, 2014, three-year-old Jeremiah Ross died after finding a loaded 9-mm Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun at his home on Morton Avenue in Elkhart, Indiana. His mother had left the master bedroom briefly around 7:30 p.m.; during that window Jeremiah discovered the firearm and a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head was later found. He was taken to Memorial Hospital of South Bend and died that same evening.

The Elkhart Police Department Homicide Unit investigated and found the gun had been legally purchased and owned by Jeremiah’s father, who was not present. Investigators reported no evidence anyone else fired the weapon. The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the matter and ruled the death an accident, declining criminal charges. Anyone with information about the household circumstances or firearm storage that evening is asked to come forward.