Fire chief learns missing 15-year-old son died in accidental shooting

DUQUESNE, Pa. — While responding to a call for a gunshot victim, Duquesne’s fire chief received the worst shock of his life: his son was the victim.

Frank Cobb said he knew his 15-year-old son had been in some trouble. He ran away from home and Cobb says he'd been searching for him for a few months. But he never imagined he'd find his son the way he did.

“Dancing around with his friends, put his finger on the trigger, and accidentally pulled it. Shot himself,” Cobb said.

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“When I got the call, we immediately reported to the scene and went upstairs to the room where he was at.”

The teenager was fighting for his life, not far from the fire station.

"We tried to revive him, but he just couldn't pull through. It was fatal,” Cobb said.

Cobb says someone gave his son the gun, and that he was so excited, he began to play with it and accidentally shot himself.

“Who hands a 15-year-old child a firearm?” he said.

There are so many questions, but few answers for Cobb.

“It's just those moments I could just never take back or get back,” he said.

Cobb says he tried to keep his son out of trouble as much as he could.

“Last thing my son said to me was, ‘Dad, I'm going to school, getting back on the basketball team, my grades are up. I’m gonna make you proud,'" said Cobb.

As Cobb grieves, he wants justice and has a message to others.

“It's not a toy, in no way, shape, or form. It’s not a toy, it's a deadly weapon that will take your life,” he said. “And my advice to other parents is to sit down and have gun control with your kids. Talk to them.”

Cox Media Group