Kissimmee boy, 4 who accidentally shot and killed himself remembered as ‘happiest baby alive’
Another Central Florida family is mourning the loss of a child after police said a young boy accidentally shot and killed himself Thursday morning.
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Kissimmee Police said an off-duty officer was at HCA Hospital Oscoela when she saw Michael Bragg, Sr. and an unidentified second person pull up to the emergency room and run for help.
Inside the car, the officer found 4-year-old Michael Bragg Jr. unresponsive with a gunshot wound in between his eyes.
According to an arrest affidavit, the adults told the officer they woke up to find the boy injured in the living room. They said they weren’t sure how it happened and no guns were in the house.
READ: Boy, 4, dies after being shot at Kissimmee home
Officers said Bragg Sr. changed his story several times when being interviewed, but later confessed to owning a gun for protection. He was arrested for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
During a search of the home, officers found two guns, including one in a suit case near the front door that appeared to have blood on it.
Dozens of people came out for a balloon release and vigil to honor the 4 year old who died in a shooting in Kissimmee yesterday morning.
Police haven't said what happened, but the boy's aunt told me his biological dad left a gun out and wasn't paying attention. @WFTV pic.twitter.com/Zg6xpWvkPc— Nick Papantonis WFTV (@NPapantonisWFTV) March 11, 2023
A mother grieves
Friday night, a large group of people gathered near the intersection of South Texas Avenue & Americana Blvd near Orlando to honor the boy they knew as the “happiest baby alive.”
“He’s gone,” Bragg’s mother, Ebony Davis, said through tears. “I’m used to waking up to him every morning, him telling me ‘Mommy, I love you so much.’”
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Davis was overwhelmed at times, needing her friends and sister to physically support her as she dealt with wave after wave of grief.
The dozens surrounding her lit candles and held them high, telling each other they would show the world how to grieve such a devastating loss properly.
They released balloons, symbolizing Bragg’s soul leaving earth as it had the day before.
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“I would rather my son to bury me before I got to bury him,” Davis said. “He’s only four years old. He didn’t even get to live his life.”
Davis said she dropped Bragg Jr. off with his father Wednesday and expected to pick him up to take him to the Central Florida Fair Thursday afternoon.
She was aware his father wasn’t calling her – but didn’t realize anything was truly wrong until a detective called her and asked her to come in.
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When she arrived, she said she was told her only child was dead.
Davis said she wasn’t aware any guns were in the house. Her sister called Bragg Sr. irresponsible.
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“We never expected for this to happen,” Cornecia Pinkins said.
The family set up a GoFundMe on Davis’ behalf to pay for funeral expenses.
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