Family of child killed by self-inflicted gunshot tries to cope

William J. McAnaul, 3, died of a self-inflicted gunshot at his Vandalia home on Tuesday, July 21, 2009.

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer Updated 9:31 PM Thursday, July 23, 2009

Will McAnaul smiled big for the camera.

The photograph captured the 3-year-old boy’s excitement after visiting the dentist to get his teeth cleaned on Tuesday, July 21.

About 1:30 p.m. that day, after returning to his Vandalia home, Will found his father’s loaded handgun under a bed and shot himself, his mother frantically told a 911 dispatcher. He was pronounced dead at Children’s Medical Center of a single gunshot wound to the face.

The picture of him from the trip to the dentist accompanied his obituary Thursday.

“That photograph is from the day he passed away,” said Charlie Carroll, pastor of The Northgate, a Beavercreek church where the McAnauls belong and where Will was a regular in Sunday school. Carroll, who was planning this week’s private memorial service, has been helping Ryan and Pat McAnaul and their children cope with the tragedy.

“Their faith is so strong right now, though they’re devastated and working through it little bits of time by little bits of time,” said Carroll, whose 4-year-old son, Charlie III, was best buddies with Will.

Carroll said Ryan McAnaul has been around firearms for a long time and believed in taking safety precautions. “It’s so surprising this happened because he’s overly concerned with those things.”

Carroll remembered Will as a smart, inquisitive boy who loved airplanes. He went to the Vectren Dayton Air Show with his family last weekend. He loved tagging along with his brothers, Alex, 13, and Connor, 9, and was a good big brother to sister Maria, who just turned 2. “If they were at the pool and someone took a toy out of her hand, he’d get it back,” Carroll said.

Will’s obituary included this message from his family: “Our true lil’ angel, my sweet baby boy, our time here was short and it seems so unfair but as you always told us, ‘God will protect us and heal our ‘boo boos’ and we know your sweet little kisses from heaven will carry us through until we see you again.”

Keep reading: 3-year-old boy’s fatal shooting still under investigation

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