A Georgia man who was wanted for violating his probation will face several new charges after a 6-year-old took his gun and shot a sibling in the face, authorities said.
The 4-year-old girl was dropped off at a convenience store on Whitesville Street in LaGrange after the shooting Monday afternoon at a nearby home. LaGrange police officers responding to the store about 2:15 p.m. found the child in critical condition.
She was rushed to a local hospital before being transferred to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. She was stable but remained in critical condition Monday evening, according to police.
Investigators later learned that 28-year-old Leemarkese Deandelo Melson left a loaded handgun within reach of the children at a home on Kelley Street, police said in a news release. A 6-year-old picked up the gun and began to play with it, accidentally shooting the 4-year-old.
After the shooting, Melson allegedly fled the scene, taking the weapon with him.
Melson is a felon who was already wanted on two counts of probation violation and failure to appear in court, police said. He spent a year in prison after being convicted of burglary and aggravated assault, Georgia Department of Corrections records show.
He now has additional warrants for second-degree child cruelty, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, police said. Melson remained at large Tuesday morning.
This is the latest incident in a rash of accidental child shootings in Georgia.
Earlier in May, a 12-year-old Griffin boy was shot and killed after his sibling found a gun in the woods, AJC.com reported. The incident led to a man's arrest.
RELATED: Man arrested, accused of ditching gun 5-year-old used in fatal shooting of brother
On Friday, the GBI charged two Warren County parents after their 3-year-old son shot his 5-year-old brother in the stomach with a rifle. The shooting took place in March, and the child was released from a hospital two days later.
MORE: Georgia parents charged after 3-year-old shoots 5-year-old in stomach
On Saturday, a child died after accidentally shooting herself while at a Bartow County campsite, leading to charges against the child’s grandmother and a man, authorities said.
ALSO: 'A gunshot and a whimper': Grandmother, man charged after child fatally shoots herself
Anyone with information on the latest shooting is asked to call LaGrange police at 706-883-2603 or 911. Tipsters can also contact Troup County Crime Stoppers at 706-812-1000.
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