Stepfather faces 5-10 years in prison in connection with accidental shooting at Blossomwood Elementary

HUNTSVILLE — Huntsville police released more information this week regarding the accidental discharge of a firearm at Blossomwood Elementary School that injured one on Sept. 17.

According to Lt. Michael Johnson of the Huntsville Police Department, investigators learned that a second-grade student brought the gun belonging to his stepfather, 41-year-old Letroy Cole Jr., to school to show off for “show and tell.” He had seen where the gun was hidden in their residence.

According to a letter Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Christie Finley released following the incident, two students were playing with the firearm in the restroom during P.E. class when the gun discharged, injuring one of the student’s hands. The P.E. teacher immediately began administering first aid and contacted campus security. The school was not put on lockdown, as the incident was deemed an accident.

“Once the accident occurred, no other students were in danger,” Finley said. “The school was safe, and class continued for our students.”

After trying to find Cole at two addresses, Johnson said police located him at his mother’s residence and took him into custody. Cole was subsequently interviewed at HPD’s Criminal Investigative Division on Holmes Avenue, which Turner and “several HPD investigators” witnessed, where Johnson said Cole stated he was aware that as a convicted felon, he was not allowed to possess a handgun. He claimed that he had found the gun about a year and a half ago behind his apartment.

HPD investigators discovered that the handgun in question had been reported stolen March 22 of last year in an automobile breaking and entering case in Huntsville.

Cole has previously been convicted of four felonies, Johnson said. Three of these are drug-related, and one involves a firearm violation. Cole posted bail following his September arrest and was released from the Madison County Jail.

Johnson said Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Agent Brett Turner, who witnessed Cole’s interview, at the CID, then began the process of obtaining a federal indictment on Cole for a felon in possession of a firearm with the Federal Prosecutors Office of Jay Town. On Oct. 1, Turner notified HPD Investigator Shane Killingsworth that the indictment had been obtained and a Federal Warrant was out for Cole’s arrest.

After taking Cole into custody at his mother’s residence, he was taken to the federal courthouse in Huntsville and “immediately arraigned.” Johnson said Cole could face between 60 and 120 months in the federal prison system.

In response to the accidental discharge, Finley said in the letter that she is working with other school officials to introduce a policy that would require clear backpacks throughout the school system. This policy is already in place for athletic events. In addition, Finley said there will be extra security on campus “for the foreseeable future,” and she is working on a policy to hold parents more accountable for gun safety.