Georgia mother arrested after child shoots her 1-year-old daughter with unsecured gun
A Georgia mother has been arrested in connection with the death of her 1-year-old daughter, who was fatally shot by another child inside an Atlanta home earlier this month.
Amaiya Dachanel Williams was booked into the Fulton County Jail on Thursday on a charge of second-degree murder. She’s accused of failing to secure her gun, which ultimately resulted in her young daughter’s death.
Police said Williams left two young children alone in a room where she also kept her firearm. The tragedy occurred on Jan. 12, after one of the children discovered the weapon and then used it to shoot the 1-year-old girl, who has not been identified. She was rushed to to a hospital, where she died three days later.
According to WAGA-TV, the child’s relatives and others were inside the home at the time.
Authorities in wake of the shooting, urged gun owners to properly secure their weapons, noting that they have responded to an increased number of accidental shooting, many of them caused by the negligence of adults. Since November, at least four children have been shot by other children or have shot themselves in Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
“It is not our goal to add to the tragedy in making these arrests, but we must hold those accountable whose recklessness or complacency leads to the loss of life,” police said in a statement.
