A Stickney man whose 3-year-old son accidentally shot himself to death last week with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol has been charged with failure to prevent the boy from gaining access to the weapon, police said Thursday.
A day after his son’s funeral, Thomas Paine, 35, of the 4100 block of Home Avenue, appeared Wednesday with his lawyer at the Stickney police station, where he posted $100 bail on the misdemeanor charge. He is scheduled to appear June 13 in the Bridgeview branch of Cook County Circuit Court, said Stickney Police Chief John Zitek.
Paine’s son, also named Thomas, found the gun in the bedroom of his father’s home. The father told police he did not think the weapon had a gun lock, authorities said.
Zitek said police and prosecutors were mindful of the tragic loss that Paine has suffered but filed the charge to underscore the need for all gun owners to properly secure their weapons, as well as Paine’s responsibility in allowing the incident to happen.
“He has already paid a price higher than anyone can imagine,” Zitek said Thursday. “We filed the charge not to punish him, but to send a message to others that, my God, you have to secure your firearms in order to protect your children. And there is a certain level of responsibility [in Paine’s case] that has to be adhered to.”
The boy shot himself in the head about 10:35 a.m. on April 20. Paine told police that he was counting receipts from his business, a Berwyn tavern, in the bedroom of his home and that his son said he wanted to take the dog for a walk, Zitek said.
The father “went to the kitchen to get the dog’s leash, and he heard the shot,” the chief said.
Paine wasn’t certain where the gun had been left, Zitek said.
“He couldn’t remember if the gun was in the [open] safe or if the boy climbed up to a shelf on the headboard of the bed and found it there,” Zitek said.
Police confiscated that gun and several others in the house. Stickney does not restrict handgun ownership or possession of a gun in a home.
Zitek said Paine was charged under a state law that requires gun owners to keep their weapons secured with a lock or stored in a safe, or secured by another method that prevents access by children younger than 14. A violation occurs if a child obtains an unsecured gun and uses it to cause injury or death.
Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $1,500, said a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney.
Many police departments, including Stickney’s, offer free gun locks to firearms owners.
The Stickney department has sought to publicize the availability of the locks, and it has many available, Zitek said. He encouraged gun owners to accept the free offer even if they don’t live in Stickney.
“I don’t care who they are or where they live,” Zitek said. He said the safest place for a gun is in a locked safe, and having a locked gun is the second-best alternative.
Dan Proft, a Paine family spokesman, said services for the boy were held Tuesday. Known as “T,” he was the only child of Thomas and Deborah Paine. Proft said the couple are divorced, correcting a statement he issued last week saying they were separated. The boy was on a scheduled visit to his father’s home at the time of the shooting, Proft said.
Paine has not decided how to plead, Proft said.
“That decision will be made further down the road,” he said. “Right now, [criminal charges] are a matter that pale in comparison to the loss of his son.”
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jsjostrom@tribune.com
