2-year-old child accidentally shoots himself, dies, mother says

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says a 2-year-old is dead after a shooting that happened inside an apartment on the westside.

The shooting happened at Morning Side apartments.

According to JSO, upon arrival, JSO determined a 2-year-old, Jaden Piedra, was shot.

According to JSO, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue transported the child to the hospital, where he later died.

The child's mother, Donna Crump-Piedra, tells Action News Jax reporter Ryan Nelson that her son had accidentally shot himself with a gun that wasn't secured while they were visiting someone.

She will soon have to bury her 2-year-old son.

“I didn’t think that I would lose him today,” she said. “I don’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.”

Crump-Piedra tells Action News Jax she and her two children were visiting a friend at Morning Side Apartments on the Westside. She says her children, Piedra and her 7-year-old son, were playing in another room.

Suddenly, her seven-year-old said Jaden was bleeding.

“And I go look, and I’m not knowing, I’m thinking he probably fell or something,” she said. “So I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ But when I turned him, I saw his face, and it was swollen. But I didn’t know that he had hold (of) a gun.”

She tells us she doesn’t know if the weapon belonged to the friend they were visiting.

JSO confirmed the child died after being taken to a local hospital. In a release Saturday night, police said they are not looking for any suspects, and the investigation is active and ongoing.

The release included a message to gun owners to be responsible:

"We would like to remind everyone to secure firearms.  Florida law states that any person who stores or leaves a loaded firearm on premises under his or her control, and who knows or reasonably should know that a person under the age of 16 is likely to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parent or person having charge of the minor, or without supervision required by law, must do one of the following:
•    Keep the firearm in a securely locked box or container;
•    Keep the firearm in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure; or
•    Secure the firearm with a trigger lock."

From this tragedy, she hopes another can be avoided. She’s reminding others to be responsible with their firearms as well.

“You never know who, or which little one, is going to get hold to it,” she said. “You could lose your child. I lost a 2-year-old.”

Crump-Piedra tells Action News Jax she doesn’t know if the man they were visiting is facing charges, and says investigators are trying to determine who the weapon belonged to.

Action News Jax is working to determine if any charges will be filed in this case or if any arrests have been made.

Action News Jax will continue to update this story as more information develops.

Cox Media Group