Newly filed court documents reveal a Columbus father accused in the fatal shooting of his 21-month-old son told investigators he accidentally left a gun safe open moments before the child shot himself.
Deshawn Levelle Butler, 22, was charged July 12 with child endangering following the death of his son, Jashwan Butler, who was fatally wounded on July 11 at a home in the 3100 block of Quinby Drive on the city’s Southeast Side.
According to an affidavit filed in Franklin County Municipal Court, officers were dispatched to the home around 10:55 p.m. July 11 on a report of a shooting involving a 1-year-old. When officers arrived, they found the child’s mother and aunt performing CPR on the toddler on the home’s front porch. He was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on July 12.
The affidavit states the toddler had been upstairs in a bedroom with Butler when witnesses heard a gunshot. Butler then ran downstairs carrying his son and told witnesses the child had shot himself. Police say Butler left the home before officers arrived.
Hours later, Butler turned himself in to authorities on unrelated outstanding warrants, according to the affidavit. During a post-Miranda interview, Butler told detectives he had secured his handgun in a safe but became distracted by his son’s “mischief” and unknowingly left the safe door open. He told investigators he stepped away and moments later heard a gunshot before discovering his son had shot himself.
Butler was charged with child endangering. Court records did not list an attorney for him as of July 13.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Columbus Division of Police.
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Court filing reveals new details in fatal shooting of Columbus toddler
Reporting by Amani Bayo, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Amani Bayo, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
