According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a St. Louis husband and father of three, Darrion Noble, was shot and killed while sleeping in bed Saturday afternoon.

He wasn't shot by a stray bullet, by a police officer or by a rival. He was shot accidentally by his two-year-old son.

Now, the toddler, completely unable to comprehend his father's demise, is longing to see his father again.

“His dad normally puts him in the tub, and when we put him in the tub yesterday, he asked for his daddy,” said Noble's cousin, Stephanie Smith.

Noble bought the .38 caliber revolver to protect his wife, his son and his two daughters, his family told the paper.

Exactly what happened isn't clear. The toddler's older sisters were home watching him as their father took a nap. Somehow, the youngest Noble got ahold of the gun and fired it, hitting his sleeping father in the neck.

Noble's daughters ran to a neighbor for help after the shot was fired; help, however, came too late, and Noble died.

St. Louis police are calling the event "noncriminal."

A firearms expert consulted by the Post-Dispatch noted that it takes less strength than one might think to pull a trigger. This year alone, 210 people have been accidentally shot by children; eight people have been killed by two-year-olds with guns.

Relatives of Noble gathered this week to remember the life of the loving father. His son played and ate chips as they reminisced.

Noble family

Smith said that she hopes other families embracing their Second Amendment rights learn a lesson from her family's tragedy.

"Even if you have it to protect your family,” Smith said, “Make sure you have it put away.”

Darrion Noble

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