Two adults are facing charges after D.C. police say a young boy accidentally shot his 5-year-old sister with a “ghost gun,” inside a Southwest apartment.
That young girl is in critical condition and remains hospitalized following Monday night’s shooting at an apartment in the unit block of Galveston Street, D.C. police said Tuesday afternoon.
Darrell Graham, 59, was arrested at the apartment and charged with first-degree cruelty to children.
The mother of the children was out running errands and Graham, a friend of the family, was tasked with watching them when the boy, who is around 3 years old, shot his sister, police said.
A woman who is believed to be a sister of the girl who was shot was also taken into custody. D’Jaunae McCrory Jackson, 21, was initially charged with assaulting a police officer after allegedly attacking a special police officer responding to the shooting.
After searching the apartment on Tuesday morning and recovering the gun used in the shooting, police charged McCrory with child cruelty and an array of charges related to possessing a ghost gun and how the weapon was stored.
The term “ghost gun” typically refers to untraceable firearms that are put together by someone using unassembled or homemade components.
Young girl in critical condition
When responding to the reported shooting at around 6:30 p.m. Monday, D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith said officers found “a young female victim, believed to be 5 years old” shot in the upper body and immediately provided first aid before emergency crews rushed her to a hospital.
Smith said the girl was injured after a younger child, roughly around 3 years old, “accessed an unsecured firearm in the apartment.”
“This incident really highlights the danger of unsecured firearms in homes, especially around children,” Smith said.
Below is a map of where the shooting took place.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
