Photo:Jonathan Weiss / Alamy Stock Photo
Jonathan Weiss / Alamy Stock Photo
A mother from Indianapolis, Ind., was arrested and charged in connection with the death of her 6-year-old son, who unintentionally shot and killed himself in April, theAssociated Press,IndyStarandWXINreport.
Monick Mack, 27, was charged in August with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, authorities said, according to the outlets. It’s not immediately clear if Mack has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
In April, Mack’s son Billy Mack II got a hold of a gun and unintentionally shot himself at Amber Woods Apartments, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department announced in a press conference, per WXIN.
The boy was transported in critical condition to Riley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
“Our preliminary information is this incident was reported as an accidental self-inflicted. However, detectives are on scene currently trying to determine if that is exactly what took place,” IMPD Officer Samone Burris said at the time.
During the press conference, Burris also discussed if criminal charges would be brought against the adults in the situation if the gun had not been secured.
”Our detectives will have to do a thorough investigation to determine the facts of what took place, so that if that’s the case, the prosecutor’s office will make any charging decisions if that’s what it leads to,” she said.
The child’s father Billy Boyd toldWTHRin April that the boy had been home with his mother at the time and that the gun had been out of reach of the child.
“She had it in a safe spot,” Boyd told the news station. “My daughter was in the house, she said he jumped from somewhere and grabbed it.”
The IMPD did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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The IMPDgave away free gun locksin June in response to an increase in gun deaths in the city, per the outlet.
Foley added, “We need to make sure these guns are secured. Use gun locks or trigger locks. Separate the ammo from the firearm. Do whatever we can to make sure these accidents don’t happen.”
For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visitBeSMARTforkids.org.
source: people.com
