ST. LOUIS – The state of Missouri ranks high in unintentional shootings that resulted in fatalities or injuries among children.

According to research by Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence and for gun control, Missouri saw at least 129 accidental shootings by children from 2015 to 2023.

Just last night, an 11-year-old boy named Marshaun Futrell Jr. was fatally wounded by a bullet inside a home on the 1800 block of Longford Drive in north St. Louis County. 

 Investigators said the child had access to his father’s firearm. According to a 13-year-old who was with Futrell Jr. at the time of the incident, the boys were playing with the gun.

One of the guns went off, according to the witness, which struck the 11-year-old. Futrell Jr. was transported to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has now issued charges against the boy’s father, Marshaun Futrell Jr., with three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. 

He remains jailed on a $100,000 cash-only bond.