Pictured, Jacksonville toddler, Jayden James Piedra.
Jayden James Piedra: Jacksonville, Florida toddler shoots self dead after happening upon unsecured gun while playing at family friend apartment. No arrest made.
A two-year-old Florida boy has died after ‘accidentally’ shooting himself with an unsecured gun while at a family friend’s apartment.
Authorities said Jayden James Piedra of Jacksonville was pronounced dead at a hospital on Saturday after sustaining a gunshot wound earlier in the day.
The shooting occurred at about 10.16am while Jayden, his mother, and his seven-year-old brother were visiting a family friend.
Jayden’s mother, Donna Crump-Piedra, told Action News Jax that her son had gotten hold of an unsecured gun and ‘accidentally’ shot himself while he and his brother were playing in another room at the family friend’s home.
‘I go look, and I’m not knowing, I’m thinking he probably fell or something,’ Crump-Piedra said. Upon turning Jayden around, the mother noticed her son’s face swollen. At the time she hadn’t realized the toddler had gotten hold of a gun.
A report via the Florida Times-Union told of police interviewing the people who were in the apartment at the time of the shooting, but that there were not looking for any suspects.
It is unclear if the friend Crump-Piedra and her children were visiting will face any charges, as police are said to still be trying to determine who the unsecured gun belonged to.
Pictured, Jayden’s mother, Donna Crump-Piedra.
Crump-Piedra said that she didn’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,’ and urged people to secure their guns appropriately.