Police: Clearwater boy killed himself after argument with mother

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - Clearwater police say a 10-year-old boy turned a gun on himself Thursday morning after getting into an argument with his mother.

Emergency crews responded to the Lindru Garden Apartments on Lincoln Avenue just before 8:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they discovered Ian Sevostjanov dead in the bottom-floor apartment.

The Belleair Elementary fifth-grader had argued with his mother this morning and when she sent him to his room, he somehow got ahold of the family's gun.

Detectives say he shot himself once, inflicting a fatal wound.

"Paramedics did everything they could to treat the juvenile, but the juvenile did pass away this morning," said Chief Dan Slaughter. "It's a tragedy in all respects."

Neighbors say Ian was a happy child, who was often seen playing with other children in the neighborhood.

"He's very intelligent, smart, cordial and just a happy kid," Lesley Sarchione offered.  "He played with all the other kids. They used to play soccer right in front of my apartment every night. I can't imagine how it's going to be for the other kids when they find out."

Clearwater police are still investigating how the gun was stored and why they boy was able to access it so easily.

The chief says the tragedy is a stark reminder to gun owners to keep their weapons out of reach to children

"There are rules and restrictions on making sure you keep a gun in a safe manner that's not accessible to a child, and I think that's just the responsible thing to do as a gun owner," Slaughter stated.  "I'm not here to debate the Second Amendment or anything, but with certain rights in the Constitution come great, great responsibility.  And if a person owns a firearm, there is a responsibility to keep it in a safe location."

The boy's mother, 49-year-old Olga Grusetskaja, was the only other people home at the time of the incident.