Arrest Made in Shooting Case of 10 year-old

An arrest has been made regarding the shooting death of 10 year-old Eric Klyaz of Scripps Ranch. The owner of the gun involved in the shooting, Todd Francis, was arrested after turning himself to San Diego Police Officers around noon of Tuesday afternoon. He was released at 1:26 a.m. of the following morning after posting $100,000 bail.

Eric Klyaz was killed on June 4 while playing with Francis’ nine year old daughter. The two kids were playing alone in a garage when they discovered a 9mm semi-automatic. Officers stated that the children were holding the gun when it discharged, resulting in a bullet striking Eric in the chest. A neighbor heard the shot and someone screaming. The neighbor ran to the house, found Eric and began CPR. Emergency services were called and arrived at the scene. He was later taken to Rady Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

It was known that there were no adults present when the two children were playing. The nine year-old girl’s older sibling was supposed to be watching the two children as they were playing, but was upstairs instead.

Before his arrest, Francis previously stated that he did not know how the children got a hold of the weapon and said in a statement through his lawyer; “The weapon was purchased lawfully, was registered, was not loaded and hidden in a separate location from the ammunition Neither the gun nor the clip were immediately accessible to children and were hidden separately for home security.”

Investigators have now countered Francis’ statement, reporting that the gun was in fact loaded and not secured.

Read More:

1) NBC San Diego- Owner of Gun Used by Boy Speaks Out

2) ABC 10 News- Police Arrest Gun Owner Todd Francis in Scripps Ranch Boy’s Shooting Death