A 2-year-old boy, Nakyzi Odums, has been confirmed dead after he accidentally shot himself in a Walmart parking lot while his parents shopped for fireworks.
Odums’ parents left him alone in their vehicle on the afternoon before the 4th of July as they went to purchase fireworks at a nearby stand, reported WALB.
Witnesses said that his parents heard a gunshot and ran to their car and found him with a wound in the chest.
The toddler was rushed to a hospital in Douglas, Georgia, and then to a trauma centre in another state.
On Saturday, July 6, the Douglas Police Department wrote on Facebook that it “regrets to inform the community that the young child who suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 3, 2024, has sadly passed away this afternoon” at the trauma center in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incident,” the police department wrote.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”
“He was definitely the light and love for his parents Sam Odums and Laileighauna Parks,” his grandmother Candi Brinson wrote. “He smiled brightly, wholeheartedly, loved unconditionally.”
It was not immediately known if the parents would face any charges in connection with the fatal shooting. There were no indications they had been arrested.
Douglas Police Chief Brannen Pruette told The Independent: “You’re allowed to have a gun in the car, but when there’s a child involved, you need to make sure that the gun is secure so that the child doesn’t have access to it.”
