MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Pamela Lewis fought back the emotions as she tried to put herself in one father’s shoes.
He left his lawn equipment lying in the driveway after he heard that single deadly shot.
“The father was cutting the grass, the children were in the house watching television. The 4-year-old wandered off from the older kids and found a gun in the bedroom,” said Chip Washington with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the boy shot himself in the head and was already dead when they got to the home on Egyptian Cove near Egypt-Central Road.
The news has parent after parent standing around feeling pain.
“I couldn’t imagine even coming home or being in the house and hearing that happened to my son,” said Pamela Lewis.
“It’s very sad for a child to shoot themselves in the face; for a gun to be around for a child to get a hold of,” said another mother who didn’t want to give her name.
Investigators were in and out of the home much of the night, asking questions and trying to figure out how the little boy was able to get his hands on the gun.
“This is a painful lesson; a reminder. When you are a gun owner and have small children in the house, provisions need to be made so they don’t get into that weapon,” said Washington.
