KALAMAZOO, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After suffering a shot to the head by a BB gun in the spring of 2021, the family of the young boy wants clarification on his death, but also action. 

Thirteen year old Deven Free died in June 2022 after remaining in hospice care for nearly a year.  He was struck by a BB gun pellet while playing outside with other boys around a mobile home park, according to the family.  The family is waiting for the results of a preliminary autopsy and death certificate according to WOOD-TV.   

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Recently, State Rep. Julie Rogers of Kalamazoo introduced bill HB 6447 which would reinstate a Michigan requirement for parents to accompany a minor possessing or using a pneumatic gun – some examples include BB, pellet, and paintball guns – outside of their home or yard. 

“Allowing kids to use BB guns unsupervised can have tragic consequences,” Rogers said. “All too often, these guns are treated as toys. Similar to any other type of gun, it makes sense to have an adult there to make sure kids are following safety precautions with pneumatic guns.”

Family members of Free hope that this would help prevent further loss of life and also tell his story. 

“I think adult supervision and that adult judgment being present is really what’s critical here. As me and my staff were doing research around this, I think over 90% of the injuries that involved young people with these types of guns or because there was no adult around,” Rogers said. “(It) just demonstrates that these weapons are serious, if you will.”

According to the Michigan House Democrats, Tens of thousands of Americans are injured with BB, paintball and pellet guns every year, and four out of five of those injured are under the age of 18. In cases where a child or teenager received a serious eye injury from a pneumatic gun, 89 percent were not supervised by an adult at the time. 

Until 2015, violators faced a misdemeanor in Michigan for a minor to use or possess a pneumatic gun outside their home or yard unless accompanied by an adult. House Bill 6447 would restore this requirement for adult supervision, but make the penalty a civil infraction.