Father of a Huntsville Elementary School Shooting Victim Sentenced

BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Monday sentenced the father of a Huntsville elementary school shooting victim, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

U.S. District Judge Karen O. Bowdre sentenced LETROY COLE, JR, 41 to 26 months in prison and three years of supervised release. 

Letroy Cole Jr., 41, pled guilty in November to the federal charge of being a convicted felon in possession of firearm. Cole possessed a Kel Tec model P-32 .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol.  Cole’s son, a second-grader, found the gun hidden in their home and took it to school to show it to a friend.  On September 17, 2018, the second-grader accidently shot himself while showing it to a friend, in a restroom at Blossomwood Elementary school.

“Felons in unlawful possession of firearms are not only a threat to all of us when those weapons are illegally in their hands, but made worse when those weapons get into the hands of children”, Town said.  “A child was shot and injured with the handgun that Cole illegally possessed.  This situation could have been much worse.  We are thankful for the efforts of the Madison County District Attorney, Huntsville Police Department, and the ATF in once again assuring the public with this federal prosecution that illegal gun crimes are taken seriously.”

“ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Centers are the driving force to reduce the potential for violent crime and disrupting the shooting cycle that plagues our neighborhoods, to include firearms recovered in the school systems.” Watson said. 

ATF investigated the case, in partnership with the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Becher Sr. prosecuted the case.