The father of a 3-year-old girl has passed away after she accidentally shot him dead using a gun she found next to her as she sat with a man in the family’s car.
Police arrested Allante Jones, 26, who told detectives that he asked the victim and his wife for a ride home and sat in the backseat of the car.
“Jones stated that he laid the handgun down and the child picked it up and began playing with it,” an affidavit said.
That’s when the gun discharged hitting her father, Jerome Smith, in the head. He was found dead behind the wheel by responding officers.
Jones was charged with reckless homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon.
“This is no doubt a traumatic experience that will impact this child the rest of her life,” a local pastor said.
