Mother Warned 2-Year-Old Son Moments Before He Shot Himself in Eye

Source
JEWETT CITY, Conn.— Court documents show that moments before a Jewett City toddler fatally shot himself, his mother warned him not to touch his father's gun because of the "bad boo boos" it could cause.[/b]

An arrest affidavit details how 2-year-old Wyatt Matteau grabbed the gun from a nightstand and shot himself in the eye while his mother was in the bathroom.

On the morning of Aug. 28, Rebecca Matteau was watching TV with her son and her 3-month-old daughter, just minutes before the shooting. The children's father was sleeping in the bedroom.

Minutes later the boy shot himself, and he died less than two hours later.

The parents have been arrested on charges including risk of injury to a minor and criminally negligent storage of a firearm.

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No, we simply need to outlaw stupidity and the sentence is death. That way we don't have to worry about that particular part of the gene pool procreating.

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we don't need to do anything

the govt doesn't need to be involved in anyway.

the kid shot himself. its the familiy's loss. get the goddamn govt out of this.

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GRISWOLD - Shortly before 2-year-old Wyatt Matteau fatally shot himself with his father's .40-caliber pistol, his mother had warned him that touching the gun meant "bad boo boos."

Wyatt had reached for the gun and Rebecca Matteau told him "No!" as she grabbed his hand, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

"Bad, boo, boos," Wyatt repeated to his mother.

But during a moment of inattention -- Rebecca Matteau was using the bathroom and her husband, Jason Matteau, was sleeping in their Jewett City apartment -- Wyatt took the handgun from a nightstand next to his sleeping father and shot himself in the eye. There was usually a gate to keep Wyatt and his sister out of their parents bedroom, but it was not up the morning of Aug. 28, according to the affidavits.

Rebecca Matteau said she heard a loud shot, then saw Wyatt run from the bedroom to the couch, where he fell. Jason Matteau said he was awakened by the gunshot and his wife screaming. Jason Matteau told detectives his son was not breathing and that he began CPR while his wife called 911.

Wyatt Matteau was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later.

Both Matteaus were arrested Wednesday on felony charges of criminally negligent storage of a firearm and risk of injury to a minor. They were released without having to post bail and are to be arraigned Oct. 1 in Superior Court in Norwich.

Details of what transpired that tragic morning are contained in affidavits accompanying the warrants for each Matteau's arrest.

The Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol, which did not have a safety, was in a nylon holster with no security strap on the nightstand. Jason Matteau told state police that he kept the pistol there for security.

About two weeks before the shooting, according to the warrants, Rebecca Matteau's uncle, Wayne West, expressed concern that Wyatt would get his hands on the pistol and shoot himself. West told police that Rebecca had told him about the pistol and its location. Rebecca Matteau responded that her husband "keeps the gun up high and out of reach," according to the warrant.

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, said Friday that he hoped people understand the seriousness of keeping weapons in their homes.

"They've got to lock them and secure them and keep them out of reach of young people," Vance said.

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This article is more detailed.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hcy-gristoddler-0919,0,6085740.story

GRISWOLD - Shortly before 2-year-old Wyatt Matteau fatally shot himself with his father's .40-caliber pistol, his mother had warned him that touching the gun meant "bad boo boos."

Wyatt had reached for the gun and Rebecca Matteau told him "No!" as she grabbed his hand, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

"Bad, boo, boos," Wyatt repeated to his mother.

But during a moment of inattention -- Rebecca Matteau was using the bathroom and her husband, Jason Matteau, was sleeping in their Jewett City apartment -- Wyatt took the handgun from a nightstand next to his sleeping father and shot himself in the eye. There was usually a gate to keep Wyatt and his sister out of their parents bedroom, but it was not up the morning of Aug. 28, according to the affidavits.

Rebecca Matteau said she heard a loud shot, then saw Wyatt run from the bedroom to the couch, where he fell. Jason Matteau said he was awakened by the gunshot and his wife screaming. Jason Matteau told detectives his son was not breathing and that he began CPR while his wife called 911.

Wyatt Matteau was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later.

Both Matteaus were arrested Wednesday on felony charges of criminally negligent storage of a firearm and risk of injury to a minor. They were released without having to post bail and are to be arraigned Oct. 1 in Superior Court in Norwich.

Details of what transpired that tragic morning are contained in affidavits accompanying the warrants for each Matteau's arrest.

The Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol, which did not have a safety, was in a nylon holster with no security strap on the nightstand. Jason Matteau told state police that he kept the pistol there for security.

About two weeks before the shooting, according to the warrants, Rebecca Matteau's uncle, Wayne West, expressed concern that Wyatt would get his hands on the pistol and shoot himself. West told police that Rebecca had told him about the pistol and its location. Rebecca Matteau responded that her husband "keeps the gun up high and out of reach," according to the warrant.

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, said Friday that he hoped people understand the seriousness of keeping weapons in their homes.

"They've got to lock them and secure them and keep them out of reach of young people," Vance said.

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Mistake #1--semi-auto with no safety. #2--no retention strap.

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Flyer22 snippet:

Mistake #1--semi-auto with no safety. #2--no retention strap.

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No, mistake is plain allowing the incompetent child to access the gun unsupervised.

This accident could have been avoided in many ways.


She could've brought it into the bathroom with her. They could've kept the gate closed. They could've put it up high enough to be out of reach (which it obviously wasn't despite her claiming it to be), and more.

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While almost anything is possible, I'm having a hard time believing this story as presented. A semi-auto is heavy and even my hands are not large enough or strong enough to shoot all of them - and I do know HOW.

Have you thought about how SMALL the hands of a 2 year old are? How did he both hold the gun backwards (only way he could have held it) and reach the trigger?

I can't see how that happened. Someone enlighten me. Maybe he just dropped it.

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Wow, that's horrible. Okay, the mom said don't touch because of "bad boo boos" and what use is a pistol next to the bed - which, in my opinion, tells me it was for home defense - locked up so you can't get it? Now, could they have done better? Definetly. My dad took me out when I was 3 or so and we shot mud puddles, watermelons, and other stuff that blows apart so I could see the effect of it. Got me to know REALLY WELL that the bad end of the firearm doesn't get pointed at anything I am not willing to destroy. Should there really be so much gov't in our lives? Seat belts, yes, as traffic fatalities cause gov't a TON of money every year (sorry, don't have the statistics on hand, but they are up there). Should they get involved in this? No, this family is now traumatized for the rest of their lives because of this incident. Is it truly their fault for the death of their child? Did they try to teach him about firearms? Did they make a plan to keep the child from getting near the firearm? Did they have their child watch Eddie Eagle videos? Who knows, since as with most firearm related incident articles, their is NOT ENOUGH INFO, and leave my opinions on good or bad parenting to the winds, as nothing can be neither supported nor unsupported.

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