Massive Toy Dart Gun Recall

The deaths of two boys have prompted the federal government to pull a popular toy off store shelves.

"Early Show" Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen reported Monday a toy dart gun sold exclusively at Family Dollar stores has darts that are small enough to get stuck in the throat and prevent a child from breathing.

Koeppen shared the story of Desman Young, a 10-year-old from Milwaukee, Wis., who was playing with a classmate's toy dart gun during recess.

Rosalind Young, Desman's mother told Koeppen, "I send him to school and I think he is coming home. He just didnt come home."

Desman was chewing on a dart when it slipped down his throat. He started convulsing and passed out -- his teachers frantically tried CPR. He died the next day at the hospital.

Rosalind said, "The doctor came in and had to tell me that he was brain dead. We knew there was no way he was coming back to us so we had to let him go."

The dart that killed Desman came from the "Auto Fire" target set, sold exclusively at Family Dollar stores for $1.50 from September 2005 through January 2009. The dart guns were manufactured in China.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued the recall after Desman and a 9-year-old boy from Chicago both died of asphyxiation after swallowing darts that came with the gun.

Family Dollar is now working with the CPSC to voluntarily recall 1.8 million of these toys.

Inez Tenenbaum told CBS News, "You cannot get (the dart) out of the child, it's a perfect fit, it's like a stopper. And it just lodges in there and blocks off the air and the child suffocates."

According to the CPSC, airway obstruction from small parts is one of the leading causes of toy-related deaths in children under the age of 15.

Several months ago, another dart gun was recalled after an 8-year-old boy in Texas swallowed a dart and died of asphyxiation.

Rosalind Young is left wondering how a dangerous toy made it onto store shelves in the first place.

"We just miss him," she told Koeppen. "We love him. I wish he was still here with me."

Koeppen said on "The Early Show" that parents should take these dart guns away from their children and throw them out. She added consumers may also return the dart guns to a Family Dollar store for a refund.

For additional information, contact Family Dollar at (800) 547-0359 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's website at FamilyDollar.com.