Parents to sue over son's gun death

ST. GEORGE, Utah, May 7 (UPI) -- The parents of a Utah teenager killed while handling a gun to be used in a school production of "Oklahoma" plan to sue the school and police, their lawyer said.

Jeff Wilcox, who represents Ron and Cathie Thayer, recently notified the St. George Police Department, the Washington County School District and the person who loaned the gun for the play of their intent to file a lawsuit, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Thursday. Wilcox said the couple would seek damages for their son Tucker's medical and funeral expenses.

Tucker Thayer, 16, was a sophomore at Deseret Hills High School when he died. Police said he took the gun out of a locked cabinet hours before the play in November and it discharged.

The gun was loaded with a blank but Tucker, hit at close range, died. It was supposed to be used off-stage for a sound effect.

"They basically left the gun attended with four teenagers every day for three weeks," Ron Thayer said. "If one adult out of all of the adults there would have done one thing right, he'd still be alive."