Gun owner charged with manslaughter after 4-year-old NC boy died of self-inflicted gunshot wound

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — A man is facing charges of manslaughter after a 4-year-old boy found a gun and accidentally shot himself.

Jaequan Lamont Mills was arrested and charged with manslaughter and failure to store a firearm to protect a minor on Monday, two weeks after officers were called to a home on Worth Street on a report that a child had been shot.

According to police, Mills owned the gun that the child used to shoot himself.

Jasmine E. Fagan, 29, of High Point, the child’s mother, is also charged with felony child abuse.

The homeowner, Cindy Gibson-Harris, 30, of High Point, is charged with felony possession of cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for the use of controlled substances.

When officers arrived, they found a 4-year-old boy lying on the living room floor suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The child was taken to High Point Regional Hospital and later died from his injuries.

Detectives interviewed people involved and learned that several adults were having dinner, playing cards, drinking alcohol, and smoking marijuana when the child was left unattended in the living room, where he found the firearm under a couch cushion and shot himself.

Mills has a secured bond of $100,000.