Three-year-old Lonato Moran-Allen, known as Nato, died from a gunshot wound to the torso on the evening of October 22, 2014, at a residence between Ronan and St. Ignatius, Montana. He was taken to St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan but did not survive.

A man living in the same house, 26-year-old Galen Hawk, first told investigators the child had accidentally shot himself. An autopsy showed the bullet entered the child’s back, which investigators found inconsistent with a self-inflicted wound for a child of that age. Hawk later admitted he and Lonato had been playing a game they called gun tag; he said the child had a toy gun while Hawk handled a .380 pistol, drank alcohol, and believed the firearm was unloaded. Hawk told authorities he fired as the child ran down a hallway and struck him in the back.

Hawk was arrested and charged with negligent homicide; he later pleaded guilty and was sentenced in July 2015. Does anyone have information about Nato’s last hours or the household where this happened?