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Tiara Shardae Taylor, 38, of Detroit, has been charged in an incident last week in which her three-year-old son found her gun on the dresser and shot himself in their house on the city's east side. He suffered a graze to the head and survived.
“This is another case that illustrates the tragic consequences of failure to secure a weapon. Children shooting themselves is completely avoidable if people will secure their weapons,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement.
Taylor was arraigend Sunday in Detroit's 36th District Court on a charge of safe storage violations – premises under individual’s control – minor present and injured self or another. It carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Taylor was released on a $250,000 personal bond, which means she did not have to post money.
Tiara Shardae Taylor
The shooting happened Friday around 4 p.m. at a home in the 11400 block of Saint Patrick Street.
At a press conference after the shooting, Detroit Police Chief James White said the mother had just come home from work and placed her gun on the dresser. Minutes later the boy picked up the gun and accidentally shot himself.
There were several other children in the home at the time.
White said that there was a lockbox for the gun in the home.
"Why the gun wasn't in there we don't know," White said, adding that the mother " left the gun in a position to cause injury to this child, so we're going to be looking at everything relevant at this point."
“This is another case that illustrates the tragic consequences of failure to secure a weapon. Children shooting themselves is completely avoidable if people will secure their weapons,” said Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
