A 4-year-old boy in Louisiana, sitting in the back of a car with two younger siblings, fatally shot himself in the forehead with a gun he found while his mother and another adult smoked marijuana in the front seat, authorities said.
An autopsy Monday found that Jarion Walker’s gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said at a news conference late Monday, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.
“It was a contact wound to the forehead, right above the right eyebrow,” Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said.
The shooting happened about 10:45 p.m. Saturday in the city of Westwego, a suburb of New Orleans. Jarion was sitting in the back seat with two siblings age 22 months and about 1, authorities said.
The adults, who admitted to smoking marijuana at the time, said they heard the shot, Lopinto said.
The little boy was rushed to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, the sheriff said.
No one has been arrested, though detectives will complete the investigation and turn the results over to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, Lopinto said.
“I don’t think it was appropriate to make an arrest at this point,” he said. “They just lost a child, and it certainly wasn’t intentional, by any means.”
The gun used in the shooting belonged to the child’s father, authorities said. The boy is believed to have found the weapon under the seat, Lopinto said.
Since the child’s death, the Sheriff’s Office is cautioning gun owners to secure their firearms.
Guns should never be left inside vehicles, the sheriff said.
“These types of deaths can certainly be prevented,” he said.
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Original Article: Child, 4, accidentally kills himself with gun found in car | AP News
The STUPID parent should be charged. Never should a gun be left unattended anywhere let alone with e child around.
Agree. While my heart aches for the parents, at the same time, this was so preventable. My husband locks his gun in the car every time, and we don’t even have small children anymore. If people don’t want the government taking away their guns; they have to be more responsible with their guns!
He should not be locking the gun in the car at all. If he is not carrying it on his hip in a holster, it should be home locked in his gun safe.
The adults should be charged with murder
The name says it all, that poor innocent child wit I bees cool idiot welfare (adults) bogies has a life cut short from 6th grade educated scum.
The saddest thing about this is that it could have easily been prevented. Responsible gun owners need to make their voices heard! This should never have happened.
Was the child even wearing a seat belt.
“While they were smoking marijuana”??? What part of this statement is anywhere near sensible? They were BREAKING THE LAW!! So sorry for your loss. By the way, you are both under arrest for unlawful death, or something like that.
Those kids should have been at home sleeping at that time of night, not sitting in back of a vehicle while their parents smoked marijuana 🥲.