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Rankin mourns boy after gun mishap

Investigators say death was accidental

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Rankin Inlet is mourning the death of a seven-year-old boy who was shot last week while handling guns in a hunting cabin outside the community.

Jobie Kadlak died of a single gunshot wound, according to autopsy results released on June 4.

The RCMP said he was playing with another boy, four days earlier, when the shooting occurred in a cabin near a baseball diamond.

After the boy failed to return home, police launched a search the next day, with the help of family and friends.

During the search, the cabin owner found the body of the boy.

RCMP sent their major crimes unit and forensic expert to the scene from Iqaluit. Residents said there was unease in the community for days, before the investigators declared the death to be accidental.

Police are still investigating whether the guns were properly stored, but will not be laying charges related to the death.

Cpl. Mike Lokken, of the RCMP Rankin Inlet detachment, said some residents seem unaware of the rules involved with firearms storage.

"Some people still have a lax attitude on the way firearms are stored," Lokken said. "That's also something that we're hoping to address in the months to come.

"This wouldn't be the only incident we've dealt with. But this is certainly the most tragic incident we've dealt with."

Under law, firearms like hunting rifles must be unloaded when they're not being used.

Then, the firearms owner must comply with one of three options. The gun has to have a lock over the trigger; or it must be made inoperable by removing the gun's bolt, or bolt-carrier.

If not, the rifle must be locked in a case, or a separate room that isn't easy to break into. Ammunition must be locked in a case, but does not have to be in a room separate from the rifle.

Inuit receive several exceptions under the law. That includes the right to keep an unloaded gun handy when it's needed for predator control, or if they are in a "remote wilderness area."

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