Parents of toddler shot in Utah among those unpunished

The parents of a 2-year-old Utah boy who was shot and killed by his 3-year-old sister in 2014 weren’t charged after investigators determined it was a horrible accident.

Research by the USA TODAY Network and The Associated Press found that the Utah couple was not alone in avoiding criminal punishment.

In the 152 cases across the country from 2014 through 2016 in which children under 12 were accidentally shot, officials decided about half of the time the parents had broken no laws.

The other half charged were usually adults who prosecutors decided should have watched the children more closely or secured their guns more carefully.

In the Utah case in Wellsville, police said the father left his against a living room wall and the girl accidentally killed her little brother while pretending she was shooting bears.