The father allegedly kept a gun easily accessible to the 10-year-old, who according to the investigators had found and touched the weapon before.
By Catholics for Catholics
Authorities have charged a 10-year-old Missouri boy with murder for allegedly firing at a 7-month-old baby in the head— the infant’s teenage dad was also charged for permitting the kid to get the gun.
The accused boy — who was unidentified because of his age — is believed to be the youngest person to have ever been charged with murder in Missouri, according to a story by The Daily Wire.
The shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m. on June 26 at a residence in the 8400 block of North Broadway in St. Louis. According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Police officers reacted to reports of a shooting and found 7-month-old Kiyomi Parker suffering from a gunshot wound inside the home.
In a patrol SUV, officers rushed the infant to a nearby hospital. Despite officers and medical personnel administering lifesaving efforts, the baby died.
After a probe by homicide detectives and child abuse detectives, police concluded that the 10-year-old boy was responsible for the shooting. The boy was taken into custody and has since been charged with first-degree murder in juvenile court.
Though officers have not publicly identified the child because he is a juvenile, authorities also arrested the infant’s father, 19-year-old Ca’Marion Pawnell, after detectives determined the gun used in the shooting belonged to him.
Pawnell has been charged with one count of second-degree felony murder, one count of endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk.
Witnesses told investigators that the 10-year-old picked up the gun and fired it while a 7-month-old child was also inside the home, according to court records.
Detectives said the 10-year-old told officers he knew the gun was hidden underneath a mattress in a bedroom, and knew about its location for an extended period of time, and had previously removed and handled the weapon.
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