Four-year-old Boy Finds Loaded Gun Under Pillow, Shoots and Kills Himself

Keith Jermal Jones Jr., a New Orleans, Louisiana 4-year-old, found an unsecured loaded gun and fatally shot himself in the head. His father, Keith Jones, Sr., told police he had put the handgun under a pillow on his bed without the safety on. The child found the gun when he was left alone in the bedroom. Police said that the gun was reported stolen; Jones Sr. has been charged with negligent homicide and possession of a stolen gun.

“That was my baby,” said his grandmother. “That was my world.” Family members said that Jones Jr. was supposed to begin Pre-K in two weeks.

Sources:

Eleanor Tabone, “Police: 4-year-old Who Shot Himself was Left in Bedroom with Loaded Gun Reported Stolen,” wwltv.com (July 21, 2023).

David Jones, “Family Identifies 4-year-old Fatally Shot, Says Father Arrested for Negligent Homicide,” fox8live.com (July 21, 2023).