4-Year-Old Shoots Self After Mom Apparently Falls Asleep With Gun In Holster
Latasha Lum (credit: Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office)
DETROIT (WWJ) - A 30-year-old Detroit woman has been charged with child abuse after her 4-year-old son shot himself with her handgun.
The incident unfolded around 10:40 p.m. Monday at a home in the 6200 block of Minock, in a neighborhood near Evergreen and Ford roads on the city’s west side.
Latasha Lum reportedly told police she fell asleep with a holster strapped to her, and that her son must have grabbed the .40-caliber gun while she was sleeping. One shot was fired, striking the child in the thigh.
The boy was rushed to Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, where he was treated and stabilized before being transferred to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. He was last reported in stable condition and is expected to recover.
Lum was questioned by police and later charged by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office with second degree child abuse.
Detroit Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody told WWJ the investigation continues.
“It’s very active and very fluid at this time,” said Woody. “So our investigators are acting very diligently to find out the truth and the facts, but what we have come to realize is that the mother is negligent.”
“What is comes down to, really,” Woody added, “is responsible gun ownership.”
Lum was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Detroit’s 36th District Court where she received a $25,000/10 percent cash bond. She will be back in court on Nov. 10 for a preliminary exam.
