Toddler Kills Himself With Father’s Gun

In Sandy Springs, Georgia, River Willis, the two-year-old son of Richard Willis, found his father’s 9 mm gun in a fanny pack, and fatally shot himself in the face. 

River had been taken to his room for a nap with his cellphone, after Willis, his wife, and the boy had returned from an appointment. Willis tossed the fanny pack with the loaded gun onto the bed in the master bedroom. When River’s phone died, the toddler came downstairs and asked his father to “please lay with him until he goes to sleep.” Willis told the boy to go back upstairs and wait for him in the master bedroom and he would come up soon. He reported hearing the gunshot minutes later, and found the boy mortally wounded.

Authorities allege the child knew the gun was kept in the fanny pack, and that Willis was criminally negligent for leaving the gun unsecured, and sending River to the room where he could access it. He has been charged with second-degree murder and cruelty to children.

River’s mother called the bond between her husband and son as “something sacred.” “Seeing them together was love in its purest form, a father pouring his whole heart into his son, and a little boy who absolutely adored his daddy.” 

Sources:

Joyce Lupiani, 
“Sandy Springs Toddler Fatally Shot After Accessing Gun in Fanny Pack,”
 fox5atlanta.com (February 19, 2026)

“‘Love in its Purest Form’: Mom Describes Relationship Between Toddler, Father Charged with Murder,” wsbt.com (February 21, 2026).