Mother cited after child dies in accidental shooting

MARRERO, La. – The mother of a 5-year-old Louisiana boy faces a child desertion charge after the child’s 9-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the head, authorities said Wednesday.

Col. John Fortunato, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, said 29-year-old Generra Brown was issued a court summons for the misdemeanour charge because she left the children unsupervised at a Marrero home before the Tuesday evening shooting that killed her son, Melvin Brady.

Fortunato said investigators believe that Brown, a home health care professional, was caring for a neighbour across the street when her 9-year-old son found a loaded gun while he and his brother were playing in a bedroom closet. As the older brother handled the handgun, it fired one shot that struck the younger child.

The 5-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers responded to the shooting around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Brown dialed 911 after learning about the shooting from the older child.

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This story has been corrected to show that child’s mother was issued a court summons and wasn’t arrested or jailed as stated earlier by police.