A 2-year-old Middle Georgia boy died Friday, one day after being shot in the head while he and his 5-year-old sibling played with a stolen gun they found, the Macon Telegraph reported.
The pistol was left in an area of the home that was accessible to the children and discovered by the 5-year-old, Jones County Sheriff Butch Reece said Thursday morning.
Authorities said the weapon discharged as the two children played with it, striking 2-year-old Kadir Renfroe in the head.
“My heart aches this morning,” the sheriff wrote on Facebook, calling it a tragic accident that should have never happened.
The toddler was pronounced brain dead just before 12:30 p.m., the Telegraph reported. An autopsy is expected to be performed Monday morning by a GBI medical examiner.
The children’s uncle, 18-year-old Darius Johnson, who lives at the home, was arrested and charged with reckless conduct, authorities told the newspaper. He also faces a theft charge because the weapon was reported stolen in a burglary two months ago, police said.
Investigators told the paper the gun may have fallen out of Johnson’s pocket as he slept. It’s unclear if he will face additional charges because the child died.
In April, a 6-year-old Paulding County girl died after her 4-year-old brother shot her with their mother’s gun.
RELATED: 6-year-old girl dies days after accidental shooting in Paulding County
The accidental shooting happened in a car parked in the driveway of a home in unincorporated Dallas, deputies said.
Credit: GoFundMe
Credit: GoFundMe
“They were all loaded up to leave the home and the car wouldn’t start,” Paulding County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said. Their mother hopped out to find the source of the problem, and somehow the young boy got hold of a handgun, he said.
Police believe the child retrieved the weapon from the car’s center console.
In other news:
