‘Unimaginable tragedy’: 5-year-old dead after shooting themselves in the head with unsecured gun, police say
A five-year-old boy died after finding an unsecured handgun in a vehicle and shooting himself in the head, police say.
Officers from the City of Griffin Police Department responded to reports of a shooting on Sunday at a storage facility in Atlanta, Georgia.
Upon arriving at the scene, police said they found the child suffering from a gunshot wound to the head in a vehicle. The shooting prompted a response from at least four agencies as life-saving measures were administered. Sadly, the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that the child was left alone in the vehicle with an unsecured firearm before he picked up the weapon and shot himself, which police say “tragically resulted in his death.”
Chase Desselle, 27, of Hampton, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, authorities said.
It marks the latest in a string of recent accidental shootings by children, highlighted by 11Alive, after they got hold of unsecured firearms in the state.
Deselle was booked into the Spalding County jail and was denied bond, online jail records show. The suspect’s relation to the child was not immediately clear.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for the family and our community,” Griffin Police Chief Connie Sampson said in a statement. “Our sincere condolences are with them during this time of loss. The incident remains under investigation.”
Sampson said that no further details are being released at this time out of respect for the victim’s family. The incident remains under investigation.
On July 24, police said that 5-year-old Jeremiah Emmanuel George Jr. was fatally shot by his twin brother in their DeKalb County home with a handgun belonging to their mother.
In Eastpoint on July 2, police said 3-year-old Jianni Jones found his father’s gun and fatally shot himself while his parents slept.
On June 23, another 3-year-old shot and killed a 19-year-old with his gun while he was asleep inside a home near Hiram, authorities said.
A 2-year-old shot their twin brother on March 12 in Hampton, with the toddler surviving.
In February, a 7-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg in northwest Atlanta. The child also survived.
