Handgun, bongs seized after 2-year-old fatally shot in Independence home: court records
Police officers discovered a handgun and marijuana out in plain view after entering the upstairs apartment where a 2-year-old was fatally shot in Independence over the weekend, according to court records.
Independence police were granted a search warrant by a Jackson County judge after the child was shot Sunday night in the 200 block of East Walnut Street. Evidence collected from the scene included a 9mm Glock, firearm magazines, two bongs and a digital scale.
Around 9:15 p.m., a 911 caller told police that the toddler had been shot and was possibly bleeding from the chest. Police officers saw a woman carrying the child toward the rear of the home when they got to the scene.
Officers provided medical treatment to the child until other emergency services arrived. They noticed the child had suffered at least one gunshot wound to the back of the head, according to court records.
The child was taken by ambulance to an area hospital and died there. Two adult residents were detained by police following the shooting.
Several circumstances surrounding the death remain unclear. But police have so far classified the matter as a death investigation rather than a homicide. And Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has said the child appeared to have been shot because a gun was left unsecured.
Police officers first entered the apartment for the purpose of securing the area and searching for other possible victims, according to court records. After seeing the inside of the apartment, they asked for a search warrant to look for firearms, spent shell casings, ammunition, illegal drugs and trace evidence such as DNA.
In addition to the drug paraphernalia and handgun, investigators took possession of a gun sight and a pink cellphone. Photographs of the scene were recorded, where blood was found was pooled on the floor and spattered on two walls, according to court records.
The death of the child prompted a statement Monday from Baker, who called the incident “tragic.” She said the death also demonstrates the need for a state law requiring firearms be locked up.
No criminal charges had been filed as of Wednesday afternoon. Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said the case has yet to be reviewed and a charging decision could take a few days.
The prosecutor’s office has in the past criminally charged adults in cases when a child is harmed or harms another because a parent or guardian left a firearm unsecured.
