Juvenile Charged In Connection With Ethan Song's Death: Police

GUILFORD, CT — Last week the Waterbury State's Attorney's office concluded that no adult would be charged in connection with the tragic shooting death of Ethan Song, 15. But on Monday, Guilford Police confirmed that a juvenile has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

In a statement the Guilford Police Department said they have "concluded their investigation into the accidental shooting death of Ethan Song that occurred on January 31st, 2018. A juvenile, whose identity will not be released, was arrested today and charged with ... Manslaughter in the Second Degree in connection with Ethan Song's death. The investigation also identified an incident that occurred prior to Ethan's death. The same juvenile was charged with ... Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree in connection with the prior incident and referred to Juvenile Court, Waterbury where the case is scheduled to be handled."

No additional details will be released, police said, because the arrestee is a juvenile.

Original story: GUILFORD, CT — No criminal charges will be filed against the adult owner of a gun that was used in the accidental shooting death of Guilford teenager, Ethan Song, 15, who died in January after shooting himself, according to State's Attorney Maureen T. Platt.

In a statement released by the State's Attorney's Office in Waterbury, it concludes that "The death of Ethan Song was a horrific and preventable tragedy. However, existing law does not support a prosecution of the gun owner under any applicable statute. Two premises underlie this belief: (1) The gun owner’s conduct in storing the guns did not itself violate the law, and (2) there is a lack of evidence that he knew, or should have known, that a juvenile was likely to gain access to the guns without his permission.

"Due to confidentiality concerns involving the rights of juveniles, no comment will or can be made regarding the potential culpability or actions of any minor child," the statement concludes.

The shooting details according to the State's Attorney's office

On Jan. 31, 2018, at 3:31 p.m. Guilford Fire Rescue 911 Communication Center received a call reporting that a fifteen year old male identified as Ethan Song was suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. This report had originated from a residence in the town of Guilford. Upon arrival a few minutes later, Song was observed lying on his back in an upstairs bedroom with an obvious wound to his temple. He was quickly transported to the Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment and was pronounced dead at 16:03 hours by hospital personnel.

Jurisdiction

Concerned that the handling of the matter by the New Haven Judicial District could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety, New Haven State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin requested that the matter be transferred to another jurisdiction for investigation and review. State’s Attorney Griffin’s request was granted and the matter was assigned to Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen Platt on or about February 6, 2018. Since that date, all matters relating to Song’s death have been handled by the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office.

Investigation

The Guilford Police Department immediately undertook an extensive investigation regarding this matter. This investigation was aided by the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad who processed the scene of the shooting. Numerous witnesses were interviewed, extensive forensic examination was conducted, phone and computer records were analyzed, and other and all leads were aggressively pursued.

Investigatory Results via the State's Attorney's Office:

"Mr. Song’s death was a tragic event in that he accidentally shot himself in the head with a .357 magnum handgun which was stored in a master bedroom closet at the location where he was shot. Mr. Song did not reside at this location and he was not related to the gun owner. This handgun was one of three which was owned by an adult male who resided at the home. On the date in question, it appears that all three weapons had been stored in a cardboard box inside of a large Tupperware container in this closet. Each weapon was secured with an operable gun lock. There is no evidence that the gun used was loaded at the time it was stored within the closet. However, ammunition for the gun was located within the same small cardboard box next to the weapon used, inside of the Tupperware container. It appears that this small cardboard box was hidden under some clothing in the larger Tupperware container. Subsequent investigation has established that the keys to the gunlocks on the three weapons were hidden in the same Tupperware container in a separate area hidden under other clothing.

An exhaustive review has determined that during the months prior January 31, 2018, juveniles had gained access to the adult male’s weapons and played with them on several occasions. It appears that the weapons were returned to their original location after each access and there is no evidence that the gun owner knew that the guns had been retrieved by the juveniles. Rather, it appears that there was a deliberate attempt by the juveniles to withhold this information from the gun owner. There is no evidence that Mr. Song knew that the gun responsible for his death was loaded or that he had any role in loading it," the State's Attorney's report concludes.

Analysis by State's Attorney's Office:

In reviewing the evidence in question, there is no evidence that the gun owner had stored the handgun in a loaded state. Connecticut law, unlike the law in at least three other states, clearly requires proof of this element. Thus, the gun owner cannot be charged under section 53a-217.

An analysis of the Risk of Injury Statute § 53-21 (a)(1), reveals that a person is guilty of risk of injury if he “wilfully or unlawfully causes or permits any child under the age of sixteen years to be placed in such a situation that the life or limb of such child is endangered, [or] the health of such child is likely to be injured….” Conduct is wilful when it is “done purposefully and with knowledge of [its] likely consequences.” (Internal quotation marks and footnote omitted.) State v. James E., 327 Conn. 212, 223 (2017). Pursuant to § 53-21 (a)(1), a person is guilty of risk of injury if he “wilfully or unlawfully causes or permits any child under the age of sixteen years to be placed in such a situation that the life or limb of such child is endangered, [or] the health of such child is likely to be injured….”

Pursuant to § 53a-64, a “person is guilty of reckless endangerment in the second degree when he recklessly engages in conduct which causes a risk of physical injury to another person.” Pursuant to § 53a-3 (13), a “person acts ‘recklessly’ with respect to a result … described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result … will occur…. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregarding it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation[.]”

Because the gun owner did not breach a legal responsibility regarding the storage of his guns, in order to prove that he was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that physical injury would occur, or in order to prove that he stored the guns purposefully and with knowledge that the likely consequence would be the endangerment or a child, or that a child would likely be injured, requires evidence that he knew or had reason to know that a juvenile was likely to gain access to the guns without his permission. In this case, there is no evidence that the gun owner knew that the juvenile had actual knowledge of where the guns were stored. However, even if this is not true, and he was aware that the juvenile knew where and how the guns were stored, this again could not support a prosecution since merely showing that a juvenile could gain such access is insufficient."

See related: Police Chief Addresses Report About Ethan Song's Death: UPDATE

Ethan Song's Parents File Lawsuit in Shooting Death of Son

Obituary: Ethan Miller Song, 15, of Guilford

Family of Guilford Teen Killed by Gun Starts "Kindness Page"

Hundreds Flock to Guilford Green For Vigil For Teen Killed

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