In the winter of 2020, a fun-loving 8-year-old boy named Jackson Jack O'Neil Bennett lost his life in what was described by his family as a tragic accident. On the afternoon of December 15th, inside his family's home in a mobile home community on Old Michigan Avenue in Canton, Michigan, Jackson was fatally shot. The incident occurred around 4 p.m. while his father, Nicholas Bennett, was reportedly performing maintenance on a rifle.
A single round was discharged, striking the young boy.
Emergency services were promptly called to the residence. Responding police and fire units found the injured child and transported him to a local hospital. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, Jackson succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. In the immediate aftermath, his mother, Tammy Snyder, expressed her profound grief, stating that the gun was believed to be unloaded and that her husband was simply cleaning it as he normally did. She described her son as a joyful child who was adored by everyone and shared a close bond with his father.
Following the incident, the Canton Police Department launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Nicholas Bennett, then 33 years old, was taken into custody. The case was then turned over to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review. While the family maintained that the shooting was a 'freak accident,' the authorities moved forward with legal proceedings.
In January 2021, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced charges against Nicholas Bennett in connection with his son's death. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter. During his arraignment in the 35th District Court in Plymouth, it was alleged that he was working on his rifle when he fatally shot his son, who was in the same room. Following the arraignment, a probable cause conference and a preliminary examination were scheduled for late January and early February of that year.
