Florida Mother Arrested After 4-Year-Old Fatally Shoots Himself With Gun Found in Purse

A Florida woman faces charges after her 4-year-old son found her loaded handgun in a purse on the kitchen island and shot himself fatally in the head.

Florida Mother Charged After Son, 4, Dies From Self-Inflicted Gunshot

A 29-year-old Florida woman has been charged with culpable negligence involving a firearm after her 4-year-old son accessed her loaded handgun from her purse and fatally shot himself, Law & Crime reports, citing Manatee County court records and a probable cause affidavit.

Diamond Phillips was arrested following the June 21 incident at a residence on Hidden Circle East in Sarasota. The boy's name has not been released by law enforcement.

Deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office responded to the home after reports came in that a young child had shot himself. At the scene, they met with Phillips and the boy's grandmother, both of whom indicated the child had shot himself using the mother's gun. Despite emergency care, the boy was pronounced dead that day.

The subsequent investigation determined that the child had found a Smith & Wesson handgun inside a green Steve Madden purse left on the kitchen island. A probable cause affidavit filed in the case states the conclusion was supported by the boy's position at the scene: he was found lying on his back in front of the island, with a gunshot wound above his left eye. His feet were pointed toward the island, "as if he fell back away from it," according to authorities. A bullet fragment was recovered from the ceiling directly above the boy's body.

When investigators spoke with Phillips, she told them she stored the Smith & Wesson in a zippered compartment of the purse without a holster. She said she "normally carried the firearm loaded on her person in her purse for protection while away from home," the charging document states.

Phillips also told investigators she "typically" placed the purse on top of the kitchen island, the microwave, or the refrigerator to keep it out of reach of her children. She noted the children were not permitted to eat at the kitchen island and could only reach it by climbing onto bar stools. Shortly before the shooting, she said she heard the grandmother tell the children to stay off the stools and away from the island. The victim's 2-year-old brother was also present in the area at the time.

Investigators concluded that both the kitchen island and the purse were, in practice, accessible to the children. On that basis, a charge of culpable negligence involving a firearm was deemed appropriate and Phillips was arrested.

Court records show she posted bond on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Her arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 6.

Source: Law & Crime