Mich. man allegedly torched car and hid gun after 2-year-old fatally shot himself

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (TCD) — Three people face several federal charges after a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, on Oct. 24 at 3 p.m., Avis Coward drove his GMS Yukon SUV to a gas station in Lansing and went inside the convenience store, leaving 26-year-old Emma Huver and her young son in the car. About a minute later, “a bullet hole appeared in the car window.”

Huver reportedly got out of the SUV with her 2-year-old son, who had blood all over his face. When she opened the door, Coward’s gun reportedly fell on the ground. Huver reportedly gave the child to Coward, who then handed him over to a third person. That third person took the boy into the gas station and tried to render aid until paramedics arrived.

The U.S. attorney’s office alleges Coward put the gun back in his car, broke the window with the bullet hole in it, and drove off. The child later died from his injuries.

Coward’s SUV and gun were later found burned in an abandoned field several days later. The gun’s barrel was reportedly discovered inside a wall at a house in Lansing.

The attorney’s office initially charged Coward with felon in possession of a firearm. On Dec. 13, a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with conspiracy to tamper with evidence and tampering with evidence. Huver is also charged with felon in possession of a firearm and Gina Schieberl was indicted on conspiracy to tamper with evidence and tampering with evidence.

According to the criminal complaint, Huver allegedly told investigators she was “on the phone and not paying attention when she heard an ‘explosion’ and saw that her child had shot himself in the head.”

Officials arrested Coward the same day as the shooting. He was reportedly wearing different clothing from what was seen in surveillance video, but he reportedly had pieces of glass on his pants.

On Oct. 25, Coward allegedly made a call from jail and spoke with a man who allegedly “offered to ‘put away’ anything Coward needed.”

Investigators arrested the man from the call and said he had a Smith & Wesson pistol, BB gun, and 5 grams of meth in his possession. The criminal complaint says the man wrapped the gun barrel in paper towels and hid it inside insulation in a wall.

Coward is not allowed to own a firearm because he has previously been convicted of felonies including breaking and entering carrying a concealed weapon, carjacking, and other charges.

Detroit Field Division Special Agent in Charge James Deir said, “The allegations in this case represent the most horrific side of gun ownership and the tragic unintended consequences associated with poor choices. Avis Coward is prohibited from lawfully possessing a firearm. He chose to possess an illegal firearm and to leave a loaded firearm unsecured in a vehicle with a toddler in it.”

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