Flint Man Sentenced After Daughter, 4, Shoots Herself and Loses Eye

In a rare application of Michigan’s safe-storage law, a Flint father has been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after his toddler daughter accidentally shot herself and lost an eye.

Toddler’s Accidental Shooting in Flint

The child, 4-year-old Skye McBride, suffered a self-inflicted gunshot in February 2024 when she picked up an unsecured firearm at her father’s residence. She sustained brain injuries and now uses a prosthetic eye.

Father Michael Tolbert’s Charges and Sentence

Her father, Michael Tolbert, will spend 106 months (just over eight years) in prison, plus an additional two years — more than a decade in total — as a result of the child’s injuries. Tolbert became the first person in Michigan to be charged under the state’s safe-storage law in a case of this kind.

According to WEYI, Tolbert pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree child abuse (down from first-degree), four counts of felony firearm, the safe-storage violation, two counts of weapons-firearms possession by a prohibited person, and lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation.

Michigan Safe-Storage Law in Action

The case underscores the growing legal consequences in Michigan of failing to secure firearms in homes where children live or visit properly. The safe-storage law is intended to prevent tragedies like the one that happened to Skye.

Flint and Genesee County officials say they hope the outcome serves as a warning to other gun owners: unsecured weapons can lead to severe injury — and serious criminal liability.

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