The mother of a 4-year-old shot and killed in a DeKalb County, Georgia apartment wants charges dropped against her brother.
Jessica Jenkins told local news she had just finished bathing her four children and stepped into her mom’s room when she heard a bang, reported by FOX Atlanta.
“Only thing I heard was a shot. One shot. That’s it. Me and my mom and brother rushed in there and got up, my brother was asleep. It was an accident,” mom Jessica Jenkins said through tears.
Jenkins says her brother grabbed Janiyah and rushed to Hughes Spaulding Hospital.
A DeKalb County police source said the gun was left out in plain view and Janiyah’s uncle, 27-year-old LeVante Cummings, had fallen asleep.
“When we got to Hughes Spalding she was talking and everything. She was talking to him,” Jenkins said.
“But when they transferred her to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston. They said when she shot herself in the leg, the bullet went through her leg and into her intestines.”
Despite the doctors’ efforts, Janiyah didn’t make it.
“She was fun, funny, happy, she helped and she was real close to her twin brother,” Jenkins said.
DeKalb County police arrested Cummings, but his family wants him released.
“It’s an accident. She pulled that trigger. My brother helped my baby. My brother loved my baby,” Jenkins said.
DeKalb Police charged suspect Cummings with second degree murder and second degree cruelty to children.
DeKalb County officials have charged a man with child cruelty after the shooting and death of a 4-year-old girl in DeKalb County.
DeKalb County said shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, DeKalb County police responded to a report of a shooting on the 1400 block of Bouldercrest Road.
Police found 4-year-old Janiyah Jenkins suffering from a gunshot wound.
During the investigation, police arrested 27-year-old Levante Cummings and charged him with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to a child. Additional charges are expected.
At the time of the shooting, there were two children, including Janiyah, in the home.
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