Man charged with manslaughter after 3-year-old dies of gun wound in Meridian

Published 3:02 pm Saturday, December 31, 2016

A suspect has been charged with manslaughter, possession of a stolen firearm and tampering with evidence in connection to a 3-year-old boy who was killed by gun shot Friday night at a Meridian apartment.

Meridian police were called around 9:30 p.m. to Azalea Park Apartments, 803 29th St., Sgt. Dareall Thompson said.

Police initially reported the shooting as accidental as the result of the boy picking up an unattended gun. Saturday evening, Thompson said the cause is being investigated and pending a coroner’s report.

The man charged was identified as the boyfriend of the child’s mother, police said.

The boy was taken to a hospital by personal vehicle, Thompson said.

He declined to disclose what type of weapon was used or specify where on the body the child was shot.

It was the second accidental shooting resulting in a death in Lauderdale County in December.

Max Robinson, 15, the son of a Lauderdale County deputy and a student at Clarkdale High School, was at his home on Mt. Horeb Road with his family when a shotgun Max Robinson and a friend were handling accidentally discharged and killed Robinson.

Besides the two accidental deaths, there were 11 murders attributed to shootings in Lauderdale County during 2016, another murder attributed to a stabbing and at least one other death by gunfire in the county, according to Meridian Star archives.