The mother of a 4-year-old girl who shot and killed herself inside her home has been charged with third-degree murder, according to ABC 6 Philadelphia.
Shakeia Holmes, 25, of North Philadelphia is now in jail, and an arrest warrant for her boyfriend, Demetrius Williams, has been issued. He is facing involuntary manslaughter charges.
Police say the young girl found the gun in a closet and shot herself in the eye. Holmes is accused of trying to cover up the incident, which happened early Thursday afternoon.
The girl was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Police say the girl’s 3-year-old sister was inside the home, as was Holmes, who was taken to police headquarters to be interviewed. It is not clear at this point what role Williams may have played during the actual incident, but there are indications that it was his gun at the center of this tragedy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 2007 and 2011, an average of 62 children under age 14 were accidentally shot and killed each year. Nonprofit Everytown USA’s analysis shows that the federal data substantially undercount these tragedies.
Read more at ABC 6 News Philadelphia.