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KANNAPOLIS — The Cabarrus County District Attorney announced Wednesday that he
will not charge the parents of a 3-year-old boy who fatally shot himself Monday.
Nicholas Lynn Evick, the son of Bradford and Stephanie Evick, of 203 Horne St., died Monday evening after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a .38-caliber revolver.
Investigators determined the Evicks took adequate precautions to protect their
children — Nicholas has two older brothers — from endangering themselves
with weapons kept in the home.
“What is clear is they considered their responsibilities and tried to carry
them out by keeping the firearms stored safely, District Attorney Mark Speas
said.
The toddler’s parents kept the revolver and another handgun locked in a
cabinet in their bedroom.
An investigation determined the guns normally were kept unloaded, with ammunition stored in a separate locked steel cabinet.
Only Bradford Evick has a key to the steel cabinet where the ammunition is kept.
Both parents have keys to the bedroom cabinet where they store the guns, said
Kannapolis Police Detective Luke Blume.
On Sunday, Speas said, Bradford Evick heard what he thought was a prowler
lurking around the family’s house on the short, dead-end road off South Ridge
Avenue. He loaded the gun for safety, but forgot to unload it.
The parents offered a possible explanation in interviews with police Wednesday for how Nicholas got the gun. His mother discovered him with her keys, including the key to the bedroom cabinet, hours before the 1 p.m. shooting.
“It may be that he unlocked the cabinet then, she saw him with the keys and
took them away from him, but didn’t think to check the cabinet,” Speas said.
“It may be they forgot to lock it, but they said it was locked.”
Speas said it makes no sense to prosecute the couple based on North Carolina law
that makes it a misdemeanor if adults knew or should have known that a minor
could get access to a loaded gun.
“It was just horrible circumstances,” he said. “This is a tragedy the
Evick family will live with for the rest of their lives.”
The family is staying with Bradford Evick’s parents, Robert and Sheri Evick of
Kannapolis. Nicholas’ paternal grandmother said she was elated by the District
Attorney’s decision.
“Oh God, I’m thrilled, I’m so happy,” Sheri Evick said, sobbing. “Those
kids just love their kids to death.”
Brandon and Stephanie Evick are devastated over Nicholas’ death, she said.
Family has gathered locally from other states for a receiving of friends tonight
and the funeral Friday at Lady’s Funeral Home.
Stephanie Evick’s parents, Nicholas’ maternal grandparents, Max and Dena
Stegall, live in China Grove.
Blume said some questions will probably never be answered about exactly how
Nicholas got the gun. But in interviews, he learned that the toddler was “a
very intelligent child, an inquisitive child and a big, strong child for his
age. So, some things that might seem out of the realm of possibility for a
3-year-old may not have been for this child.”
Sheri Evick said he was extraordinarily curious.
“He just wanted to know what everything was for,”she said. “He was a
curious little boy and smart, oh was he a smart little boy.
“We miss him so much.”
Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com
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