Jayden James Piedra: Jacksonville, Florida toddler shoots self dead after happening upon unsecured gun while playing at family friend apartment. No arrest made.
A two-year-old Florida boy has died after ‘accidentally’ shooting himself with an unsecured gun while at a family friend’s apartment.
Authorities said Jayden James Piedra of Jacksonville was pronounced dead at a hospital on Saturday after sustaining a gunshot wound earlier in the day.
The shooting occurred at about 10.16am while Jayden, his mother, and his seven-year-old brother were visiting a family friend.
Jayden’s mother, Donna Crump-Piedra, told Action News Jax that her son had gotten hold of an unsecured gun and ‘accidentally’ shot himself while he and his brother were playing in another room at the family friend’s home.
Crump-Piedra said that her seven-year-old son told her that Jayden was bleeding, prompting her to see what had happened.
‘I go look, and I’m not knowing, I’m thinking he probably fell or something,’ Crump-Piedra said. Upon turning Jayden around, the mother noticed her son’s face swollen. At the time she hadn’t realized the toddler had gotten hold of a gun.
Crump-Piedra said that she didn’t know whether the gun belonged to the person they were visiting.
A report via the Florida Times-Union told of police interviewing the people who were in the apartment at the time of the shooting, but that there were not looking for any suspects.
It is unclear if the friend Crump-Piedra and her children were visiting will face any charges, as police are said to still be trying to determine who the unsecured gun belonged to.
Jayden James Piedra mother: ‘What am I going to do without my baby!’
Crump-Piedra said that she didn’t ‘know what I’m going to do without my baby! That’s my best friend! He’s everything to me! Both of my kids are,’ and urged people to secure their guns appropriately.
‘You never know who, or which little one, is going to get hold to it,’ Crump-Piedra reiterated. ‘You could lose your child. I lost a 2-year-old.’
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office urged the public to practice appropriate gun safety measures in tweets informing the public about the incident, stating, ‘Reminder to everyone: Make sure your firearms are secure.’
In an official release about Jayden’s death, police stated that under Florida law, it was necessary for people in possession of a firearm that could be picked up by a child under the age of 16, without a parent’s permission or adult supervision, must put the gun in a securely locked box, use a trigger lock or place it somewhere that ‘a reasonable person would believe to be secure.’
Posted Jayden’s godmother, Precious Vorters on Facebook:
‘Jayden baby boy this hurt go to a whole different level . My heart and everything is hurting,’ Vorters wrote. ‘We had a bond like no other my precious god baby ! I’m losing my mind baby boy ! You didn’t deserve this. I can’t live like this . I feel like god snatched my heart out . This Neva gone stop hurting me . Rip don’t feel right coming out my mouth . Pray for my family please. I’m outta words…’
Toni Barber, Jayden’s other godmother, told News4Jax that the toddler was an active child who was both well-mannered and respectful. She also noted that Crump-Piedra ‘is a good mother’ and ‘not a person to have her children in harm’s way.’
‘One thing I could say is she loves her kids,’ said Leeadriea Farmer, a friend of the family. ‘That’s all she got. She doesn’t have any family down here. Her kids, she goes beyond and overboard for. Jayden, he was like her heart.’
Police said their investigation into Jayden’s shooting was still active and ongoing.
