. >> 4-year-old cole james clark was killed in rural orange county virginia. the toddler had somehow picked up a loaded gun and shot himself. the babysitter or the day care provider's fiance is a stafford county sheriff's deputy still in training at the academy. the orange county sheriff said the gun used was not a service weapon. now the parents are facing the heartbreaking task of planning a >> there's no reason a child should be in reach of any kind of weapon at any point in time. >> a gofundme page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses. the family is also waiting to see whether any charges will be filed. it is against the law in virginia to leave a loaded unsecured firearm in a place where children could find it. >>> five minutes after the hour. we're following this developing story, three men are on the run after murdering a man at an apartment in waldorf. in a twist, detectives say the victims may have known his killers. here's what police say happened. three suspects entered an apartment on promenade place and shot a man. he was prono

. >> reporter: heartbreak in rural virginia this month as a 4-year-old cole james clark just dropped off at a babysitter's home somehow got his hands on a loaded gun and fatally shot himself. >> what mother has to bury her child? [crying] >> reporter: the babysitter and her fiancee, a sheriffs recruit in training face charges of felony child neglect though investigators say the gun involved wasn't a service revolver and he wasn't home. an estimated 44% of u.s. homes have a gun in the house. new research from children's national hospital suggests of parent s wrongly assume the children don't know where the gun is kept and 22% believe their kids never handled the gun. >> i think parents have a false sense of security about having firearms in their home and believe their children don't know where they are or never accessed them. >> reporter: the numbers are haunting. in 2015 more than 4500 kids under 21 were killed by firearms and more than 20 kids each day hospitalized with gunshot injuries. the injuries and deaths are so common, they are calling on pediatricians and parents to keep th

cole james clark was 4 years old.ries like his children's national hospital says more than 20 children are sent to the hospital with gunshot wounds every day. the research calls for 40% of parents wrongly assume their children don't know where guns are kept. on top of that, 22% wrongly believe their children have never handled a gun. >> they think parents have a false sense of security about having these firearms in their home and they believe their children don't know where they are or they've never accessed them. >> researchers suggest before your child visits another home ask the family whether they secure their guns. in the clark case the baby-sitter and her boyfriend have been charged with child neglect with the boy's death. >>> this morning investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong at a california water park. he was thrown from a water slide. this is video from the accident. you've probably seen it online. the 10-year-old boy is launched into tir along the concrete for several feet. he was not serio

. >>> 4-year-old cole james clark died after picking up a loaded gun at his day care. accidentally shot himself. his babysitter's fiance still in training there at the stafford training academy there. the gun that the taoddler used was not a service weapon. >>> angie goff at the to show us where a confederate monument was taken down. >> we actually have video in new orleans of workers taking down a statue of general b boeauregard. the city said it will help move the city forward. eun. >>> two people have now been arrested for that scuffle yesterday outside of a turkish ambassador's home. video from the scene shows people shouting and being taken away by police. this came hours after president trump met with turkish president erdogan at the white house yesterday. d.c. tells us two people are in the hospital with major injuries, eight others have minor injuries. the fight broke two groups. one person is charged with assaulting an officer. >>> well, this is a story we've been following closely for more than a year now d.c. police are debunking a conspiracy that falsely li

cole james clark got a hand on a -- which is stoya is charged with reckless endangerment and child abuse charges. heather massey is facing similar charges. they are being held in jail without bond. >>> extreme hording made it difficult to fight there was so much clutter in the home that firefighters had to evacuate and fight the flames from outside. crews had to stream water in the windows and doors to put out that fire. to one was injured but the homeowner had to be take ton the hospital for some sort -- taken to the hospital for some sort of medical issue. >>> the sheriffs office says two 16-year-old students have been charged with distributing xanax. their names are not being released because of their age. back on april 21st, nurses examined seven eight graders that were sent home with their parents. they were sharing a liquefied mixture of xanax. >>> president trump is in italy. >> president trump scheduled to meet with pope francis tomorrow at the vatican. the president will also tour >> president trump's new budget proposal here is receiving a lukewarm reception on capitol hill. th

. >> reporter: cole james clark had just celebrated his fourth birthday, the proud big brother of two little sisters. >> he told us he loved us like every five minutes. >> reporter: now cole's mom hol holds on to those words and his stuffed toy as she prepares to plan her little boy's funeral. >> i don't want to be burying my son. he didn't do anything wrong. >> reporter: it was only about an hour after she dropped him off at a babysitter's house that she and her husband got chilling phone call to come right away. >> when we got there, it was any typical scene, cop cars, ambulances, everyone's out front. so we knew something bad had happened. >> reporter: the couple soon learned cole had gotten hold of a loaded gun at the babysitter's house and fatally shot himself. the babysitter's fiance is a stafford county sheriff's deputy still in training. the orange county sheriff's office is investigating, reporting the gun that killed cole was not a service revolver, but the deputy wasn't at home at the time of the tragic incident. as the investigation continues, cole's parents have a warning

earlier this month, we told you about 4-year-old cole james clark, dropped off at babysitter's house, hold of a loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed himself. the babysitter and her fiance have been charged with felony child neglect. pediatricians and researchers at national children's hospital, they say 40% of parents wrongly assume that their kids don't know where the guns are kept in the home. and that 20,000 kids will be rushed to er's this year suffering from firearm related injuries. nbc's tom costello is taking a closer look at the numbers on "nightly ns" more on what researchers say you should ask before your child visits another person's home. >>> well, coming up, more close calls involving state troopers on the side of the road. alarming new numbers showing how many times they have been hit while on the job. and the two things driving the trend. >>> plus, call it a staff shake-up. almost 200 teachers have quit since the start of the school year in one of our local school districts. we'll show you w he head in now to grab the five dollar footlong spicy italian