Sheriff: Charge Dad In Accidental Shooting

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is recommending that a Valley security guard who left his loaded weapon within reach of his children be charged in the accidental shooting of his 9-year-old son.

The boy shot himself in the head May 19, shortly after his father had returned from work and put his handgun in his bedroom.

The boy, who underwent surgery, was recently released from the hospital and is back at school.

Detectives are asking that Robert Grenier be charged with reckless endangerment in the incident, Sheriff Mark Sterk said. The charge is a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail, he said.

The man’s actions meet all the elements of reckless endangerment under the statute, Sterk said. But it’s up to Prosecutor Steve Tucker to decide if charges will be filed. The affidavit will be presented today, Sterk said, and a decision on charges should come by early next week.

Sterk said his office is trying to enforce responsible gun ownership.

“We want to enforce the laws that we have. That’s where we are coming from,” he said.

On the day of the shooting, Grenier told deputies that he was on the phone when he heard a gunshot. He found his son walking out of the bedroom with a head wound. The boy’s 6-year-old sister was in the room at the time of the shooting, according to the Sheriff’s Office.