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4-Year-Old Shot in Clayton County; Criminal Charges May Follow

Thursday, August 30, 2012 16:12

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(Before It's News)

A 4-year-old girl was shot in the head on Wednesday while riding in a minivan with three other children in Clayton County, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Police haven’t released many details about the incident. However, they have stated that the shot was fired from inside the van. Whoever was responsible for bringing a gun into the car could be charged with child endangerment or even attempted murder if he or she pulled the trigger.

According to authorities, the girl’s mother heard a loud “pop” come from the back of the vehicle while driving on Fayetteville Road. She turned around to see her daughter slump over.

The girl was taken by helicopter to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and is currently being treated. While police haven’t released many particulars about the incident, they have noted that criminal charges may be filed. That could mean the girl’s mother or another person may have left the gun in the car, or another passenger may have been carrying the weapon.

Coincidentally, another local 4-year-old was shot in the face earlier this summer. Fortunately, it was only a grazing wound.

In that case, the boy somehow found the .38 caliber gun somewhere in his DeKalb home and accidentally fired it at his face. Both the boy’s mother and her roommate were reportedly home at the time of the accident.

DeKalb police decided not to file charges against the mother or her roommate. However, that case was a bit different than the current incident, in that the gun was found in a home, not a car in which children were riding.

If the girl’s mother or whoever brought the gun into the car is charged with a crime, it will likely be endangerment. Under Georgia’s endangerment law, any person who puts another person in harm’s way by knowingly ignoring the risks caused by her behavior is guilty of endangerment. The defendant’s behavior must be a far cry from how a reasonable person would act in the situation.

It’s still too early to say whether charges will brought, or whom they’ll be brought against. Clayton police are currently investigating the incident.

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