Louisiana Boy, 4, Dies After Shooting Himself In Car With Adults Who Were Smoking Weed, Police Say
A 4-year-old Louisiana boy died tragically of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head in a parked car while his mother and her adult friend sat in the front seat smoking marijuana. That’s what the evidence shows, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto’s stated Monday (Jan. 31) at a news conference.
"It was a contact wound to the forehead, right above the right eyebrow," Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said at the news conference, revealing to reporters the findings of an autopsy conducted Monday on Jarion Walker of Marrero, a suburb of New Orleans.
According to the police, on Jan. 29, Jarion was sitting in the back seat with his two younger siblings, a 22-month-old and the other about 1. His mother and her friend admitted to investigators that they were in the front seat smoking weed with the kids in the back.
Investigators believe Jarion found a gun that belonged to his father under a seat and fired it. He was rushed to the hospital but died from his injuries.
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At first, it appeared to investigators that the gunshot was fired at the back of Jarion head, which raised suspicions that either one of the adults or his siblings pulled the trigger. Detectives were certain that it was improbable that the toddlers were physically capable of poinitng and firing the weapon at the back of Jarion’s head.
But the autopsy and ballistic evidence "made it more probable that it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound by the 4-year-old," Lopinto said at the press conference, adding that no arrests were made in connection with the shooting.
"I don't think it was appropriate to make an arrest at this point. They just lost a child, and it was certainly wasn't intentional, by any means," he stated.
The sheriff said his detectives will complete their investigation and present the evidence to the county prosecutor.
Jarion, tall for his age, was a basketball fan, the boy’s great uncle Charles Young told Nola.com. He was also playful. A few days before his tragic death, Young recalled Jarion and his sisters jumping on his bed when they came to visit his home.
"He was a good kid, a very damn good kid," the grieving great uncle said, adding, "It's just so hard to believe that that little man is gone.”
Lopinto told reporters that Jarion's death was preventable, urging gun owners to secure their weapons at all times. According to the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, in 2021 there were at least 371 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 151 deaths and 239 injuries nationally.
