Florida Mother Charged After 4-Year-Old Son Fatally Shoots Himself With Gun From Her Purse
The child allegedly accessed a loaded handgun stored in his mother's purse, leading to the fatal incident.
A Florida mother has been arrested on negligence charges after her four-year-old son died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound sustained with a handgun found in her purse. Diamond Phillips, 29, faces charges of culpable negligence involving a firearm accessible to a minor.
Deputies responded to a home in Sarasota on June 21 following a report of a child shooting himself. According to a probable cause affidavit filed on August 28, the child's grandmother and Phillips told deputies that the boy had shot himself with the mother's gun.
Investigators allege that the toddler climbed onto a kitchen stool and reached into his mother’s purse, which was placed on a kitchen island. The child then retrieved a .380 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol from the purse and fired it, striking himself in the face. Life-saving measures were administered, but the child was pronounced dead from his injuries.
Forensic and autopsy findings indicated that the boy was likely looking down the barrel of the gun when it discharged. A bullet fragment was discovered lodged in the kitchen ceiling, and a spent cartridge casing was found in the firearm's ejection port, suggesting a stovepipe malfunction. The sheriff's office stated this malfunction was likely caused by insufficient grip resistance, consistent with a child operating the firearm.
Phillips told deputies she stored her gun in a discreet compartment within her purse, without a holster and typically with an extra magazine. On the day of the incident, she placed the loaded, unsecured firearm on the kitchen island, believing her children were deterred from accessing the area due to rules about climbing on the counter or eating at the island. The child's grandmother, present at the time, had reportedly reprimanded the boy and his two-year-old brother shortly before the shooting.
Phillips stated the firearm was purchased for "safety away from home." She was arrested on September 22 and released on a $10,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for November 6. It remains unclear if she has entered a plea or retained legal counsel.