A five-year-old boy has died after finding an unsecured handgun in a vehicle and accidentally 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.
When they arrived, police found the child suffering from a gunshot wound in the vehicle. Emergency responders from at least four agencies tried to save him, but sadly, the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the child had been left alone in the vehicle with an unsecured firearm. He picked up the weapon and accidentally shot himself, which police said “tragically resulted in his death.”
Chase Desselle, 27, of Hampton, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, authorities said.
This incident is the latest in a series of accidental shootings involving children who gained access to unsecured firearms, as highlighted by 11Alive.
Desselle was booked into the Spalding County jail and denied bond, online jail records show. His relationship to the child has not been made clear.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for the family and our community,” Griffin Police Chief Connie Sampson said. “Our sincere condolences are with them during this time of loss. The incident remains under investigation.”
Sampson added that no further details are being released at this time out of respect for the victim’s family.
Recent incidents in Georgia highlight the dangers of unsecured guns:
- On July 24, 5-year-old Jeremiah Emmanuel George Jr. was accidentally shot by his twin brother with a handgun belonging to their mother in DeKalb County.
- On July 2, 3-year-old Jianni Jones in Eastpoint fatally shot himself while his parents slept.
- On June 23, a 3-year-old accidentally shot and killed a 19-year-old inside a home near Hiram.
- On March 12, a 2-year-old shot his twin brother in Hampton; the toddler survived.
- In February, a 7-year-old accidentally shot himself in the leg in northwest Atlanta and survived.
These tragedies underscore the importance of keeping firearms secured and out of children’s reach.
