D.C. police said Tuesday that they charged a man and a woman after a three-year-old boy got hold of a gun and accidentally shot his five-year-old sister inside a Southwest apartment.
Metropolitan Police said Darrell Graham, 59, of no fixed address, and D’Jaunae McCrory Jackson, 21, no address given, were taken into custody on child cruelty, assault and weapons charges following the shooting that left the girl in critical condition.
“This incident really highlights the danger of unsecured firearms in homes, especially around children,” Police Chief Pamela Smith said Monday.
Police said the boy shot his sister around 6:30 p.m. Monday on the unit block of Galveston Street Southwest.
Mr. Graham was supposed to be watching over the children while their mother was out running errands, according to police. He was arrested Monday night and charged with first-degree child cruelty.
MPD said officers arrested Ms. McCrory, who is believed to be the children’s aunt, after she attacked a special police officer who first responded to the scene.
Additional investigation on Tuesday determined the gun used in the shooting was a “ghost gun,” or an untraceable firearm that’s usually assembled at home.
Ms. McCrory faces charges of assault on a police officer, child cruelty and multiple charges related to possessing the illegal ghost gun.
