Two parents of a 4-year-old boy, and an uncle, are being charged with being responsible for the December 13 shooting and death of the boy by his sister at a mobile home outside of Gastonia, North Carolina.
Police say the boy and his sister discovered a gun neglectfully left on a coffee table in the mobile home, with one bullet still in the chamber. The boy was accidentally shot once by his sister and died immediately.
Hector Manuel Mendoza-Saucedo, 22, Savannah Leigh Brehm, 22, and Keith Deshawn Sturghill, 21, all face charges of felony child abuse, felony involuntary manslaughter, and the misdemeanor charge of keeping a handgun in a way that a child might find it.
Michael Mendoza, 4, was the son of Brehm and Mendoza-Saucedo. Sturghill was his uncle. The three lived together in the mobile home with the children. Brehm said that Michael’s sister, who is around the same age as Michael, accidentally shot and killed him. Brehm said that she believed the gun was locked up.
According to the prosecution, the uncle was the owner of the gun. He and the father were not at home when the shooting happened.
On Wednesday, the child’s mother pleaded with the court and said, “This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me, and it will scar me for the rest of my life. I have never been in trouble.” Brehm claimed that although Uncle Keith had promised to put the gun away before he left the home, it was left behind and tragically found by the kids.
The Gaston County police department offers free gun locks at their station’s front desk.