Police continue to investigate 3 Texas cases in which young boys fatally shot themselves

Gun ownership in Texas is on the rise, and first-time owners may not have had experience in the safe storage of guns. While owning a gun is a personal decision, storing guns responsibly is a public safety issue. All new hand guns sold in the U.S. are required to come with a gun lock. (Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle ) less Gun ownership in Texas is on the rise, and first-time owners may not have had experience in the safe storage of guns. While owning a gun is a personal decision, storing guns responsibly is a public safety ... more Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Police continue to investigate 3 Texas cases in which young boys fatally shot themselves 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

No charges have been filed in any of the three recent cases in the Houston and Fort Worth areas in which young children died after finding guns in their respective homes.

On Jan. 24, 3-year old Jonnie Colon found a gun in the bedroom at his home in northeast Fort Worth and accidentally shot himself in the head with family and other children also in the house, authorities said. Investigators are still trying to determine if the shooting was accidental.

On Saturday Jan. 27, a 4-year old boy in Texas City who was in the care of his grandmother found a small-caliber handgun in a bedroom and shot himself, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cpl. Mel Villareal, a spokesman for the Texas City Police Department, declined to provide details this week on who owned the gun or whether it was safely secured in the house.

And on Sunday Jan. 28, a 6-year old boy staying with his family at an older sister's apartment in north Houston found a handgun in a bedroom while his relatives were sleeping and accidentally shot himself, authorities said. The boy was transported to Texas Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead that night.

Kese Smith, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, said that investigators were treating the incident like an accidental shooting, and declined to release details on whether the gun was safely secured.

Texas is one of 27 states with a Child Access Prevention law, which states that if a child under 17 gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm (i.e., loaded with ammunition, whether or not a round is in the chamber), a person is criminally liable but only if he or she failed to secure the firearm or left the firearm in a place where the person knew or should have known the child would gain access "with criminal negligence."

However, if the negligent person is a member of the family of the child who discharged the firearm, and the child was killed or seriously injured, an arrest cannot be made until seven days after the offense was committed.