The boyfriend of a Butts County mother whose 2-year-old was killed in an accidental shooting was arrested Friday on numerous charges.
Christopher Dwayne Askins, 37, was charged with second-degree child cruelty, possession of a gun by a convicted felon and drug possession, Channel 2 Action News reported. Investigators believe it was Askins’ .45-caliber gun that killed the boy, though the man was not in the home at the time of the shooting.
Jayden Jamar Clay died Wednesday night inside his Jackson home, according to police. Jayden and his twin brother were in the living room and their mother was in the kitchen when a single shot was fired, police said.
Investigators believe Jayden found the gun and shot himself.
At the time of his arrest, Askins was on parole for a prior drug conviction, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Askins was in prison from November 2013 until April 2014 after being convicted of cocaine charges in Butts County, records showed.
Jayden's death came less than three weeks after a Cobb County toddler died after shooting himself inside his family's home, according to police. On Oct. 27, a 2-year-old boy found a semi-automatic handgun on a bed and shot and killed himself, Acworth police said. The boy's father, Grant Dennington, and 4-year-old brother were also in the home at the time of the shooting, though neither was injured.
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