Police report reveals new details about toddler shooting death at Lamplighter Mobile Home park

Police report reveals new details about toddler shooting death at Lamplighter Mobile Home park
Published: Sep. 8, 2022 at 6:14 PM EDT
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -The arrest report for two parents charged in the death of their toddler, with a gun found in the home, is revealing new details. Gainesville police say a witness was shown two guns, hidden in the center console of 48-year-old Ledrick Ferguson and 34-year-old Kayla Carter’s couch and the pair’s youngest child watched the entire interaction.

It happened at Lamplighter Mobile Home park. The report states their three-year-old grabbed a hidden gun that was loaded with two rounds of ammunition. One of his older siblings tried to take the gun away, and that’s when it went off, killing the three-year-old.

RELATED STORY: Parents arrested after Gainesville toddler shoots himself

Police said an adult, who is mentally and physically disabled, was in the room at the time but not capable of caring for the pair’s three children.

When interviewed, Ferguson told police his two older children should have kept a closer eye on the toddler while he and Carter left the home. The two children told officials that their parents left the home routinely.

RELATED STORY: ‘I’m very sad for the family’: Residents react to a toddler shooting himself while playing with a gun

Ferguson is a convicted felon and now he, and Carter are charged with manslaughter, and unsafe storage of a firearm, among other charges.

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