3-Year-Old Found Gun, Fatally Shot Self While Mother, Boyfriend Were High

A woman and her boyfriend were arrested after her three-year-old son fatally shot himself at their apartment in Jackson, Tennessee, on Saturday.

According to a press release from the Jackson police, officers responded to the apartment Saturday morning after receiving reports of a shooting and found the toddler, Chrisaiah, lying with a gunshot wound. The boy was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to injuries the same evening. Following investigation, 25-year-old Linda Arrington and her boyfriend, 43-year-old Antonio Dancer, were taken into custody. Police said the toddler lived with his mother and her boyfriend in the apartment.

“Dancer and Arrington were both under the influence of drugs while the child was left unattended. He found a handgun that was not properly secured and shot himself,” the press release stated.

During interrogation, Arrington told the officers it was not the first time her son had found the weapon and that she had taken away the gun from the toddler the first time he found it under the pillow in April. She added she was in the kitchen when the incident took place Saturday. Arrington said she heard a sound and rushed to the bedroom only to find her son bleeding, the Jackson Sun reported.

Dancer told the officer he too was aware that the gun was in the bedroom as he used to keep the weapon under the mattress. The weapon was found in a dumpster near the apartment. It was, however, unclear if the gun belonged to Arrington or Dancer.

Dancer and Arrington were both charged with negligent homicide in the court Tuesday morning and scheduled to appear in court again May 14. They were held at the Madison County Jail. While Arrington’s bond was set at $35,000, Dancer’s was set at $50,000. In the court, Arrington said she suffered from mental health problems including anxiety and mood disorders.

A GoFundMe page was started to help the family pay for the funeral services. "This GoFundMe is solely for the purpose of assisting my family with all things associated with the funeral services for the untimely and heartbreaking death of 3 year old Chrissiah," it read.