MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man was charged with reckless homicide Thursday after police say he laid his gun down near a child who picked it up, resulting in a man’s death.
Late Wednesday night, Memphis Police said they were on the scene of a shooting in the 4300 block of Harvest Hill Road in Hickory Hill.
Officers found an unresponsive man in the driveway of a home, inside a black Nissan Altima. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Allante Jones, 26, was arrested and charged with reckless homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon in the shooting, MPD said Thursday morning.
According to an arrest warrant, Jones told investigators that the victim was giving him a ride home in his car.
Jones said he got into the car with his handgun and sat in the backseat, next to a 3-year-old girl.
Jones told police he laid the gun down, and the child picked it up. She was playing with the gun when it discharged, striking the driver in the head and killing him, police said.
Police said Jones did not have a handgun carry permit. He was heard on surveillance video “apologizing for his role in the victim’s death.”