An Indiana man, aged 25, has been apprehended following an incident where a 6-year-old boy accidentally shot his 4-year-old sister with an unsecured firearm allegedly left by the man in a house full of young children. Terrelle S. Jackson was charged with neglect of a dependent causing death, a level 1 felony, in connection with the tragic death of Deor Neita in July, as per the local authorities.
The Cumberland Metropolitan Police Department, in a press statement, revealed that they received a distress call around 4:39 p.m. on July 5, reporting a possible child shot at a residence on Woodlark Drive in Cumberland, Indiana. First responders arrived at the scene within three minutes, hearing screams from the second floor of the house and immediately entered.
Upon entering, the police found Deor with a gunshot wound to her head. Despite the emergency crew’s best efforts to save her life, the young girl succumbed to her injuries on the spot. The police then started questioning several witnesses, including children under the age of 6, with the help of forensic child interviewers.
The interviews revealed that four children, all aged six or younger, had found a firearm in an upstairs bedroom. The children were aware of the firearm’s presence and its owner. The firearm, loaded with an extended magazine, had neither a gunlock nor safety enabled. The children began playing with the firearm in a separate upstairs bedroom, during which the 6-year-old boy accidentally fired the weapon, fatally injuring his 4-year-old sister, Deor.
The police stressed that they do not believe the 6-year-old boy intended to harm his sister, nor did he comprehend the potential devastation a firearm can cause. Cumberland Police Chief Suzanne Woodland, in a conversation with the Indianapolis Star, stated that the children’s great-great-grandmother was at home watching them while their mother was at work, a common occurrence. The elderly woman claimed she had been cleaning the room and had not seen a gun.
Woodland referred to the incident as “awful” and “tragic,” emphasizing that it should serve as a “wake-up call” to gun owners about the importance of safe firearm storage. The investigation concluded that Jackson, who was living in the house at the time of the incident and was a parent to one of the children present, owned the firearm used in the fatal shooting.
The police stated that Jackson was legally barred from possessing a firearm at the time of the incident. His alleged intentional negligence in securing a loaded firearm in a home with six small children directly led to Deor Neita’s death. An arrest warrant was issued for Jackson on August 15, and he was taken into custody on September 8 and processed into the Marion County Jail.