A 28-year-old Indiana mother, Keiara Bickett, has been charged in connection with the death of her 2-year-old son, Javarius. Authorities alleged that the boy grabbed her mother’s gun from her purse and fatally shot himself in the head.
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As reported by WTHR, the incident occurred back on June 19. At around 3 p.m., Indiana Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a CVS parking lot located on East 46th Street. Bickett, according to court records obtained by the outlet, had advised authorities that Javarius, her 2-year-old son, had shot himself in the head in her car.
While Javarius was rushed to a local hospital, he would succumb to his injuries shortly after. Present in the car was also Bickett’s 9-year-old daughter, who was 8 at the time.
During an interview with police, Bickett allegedly detailed that she was driving with her children at the time of the incident. Her 9-year-old daughter was in the front seat, while Javarius was in his car seat. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, according to court documents.
At one moment, Javarius ended up in the front area of the car. While Bickett was parking her car, and while she was looking for her cellphone, she heard a gunshot, court documents alleged. As she ducked for cover, she noticed Javarius collapsing. He had accidentally shot himself in the head.
A Gun In A Purse
Bickett told police that she usually carries her 9mm Glock Model 26 Gen 5 handgun in her purse, which usually remains zipped, court documents said. However, she allegedly believed that the purse was not zipped when the incident occurred.
At the time of the fatal shooting, the purse was allegedly located between the center console and the front passenger seat.
This was confirmed by Bickett’s 9-year-old daughter, who allegedly told police that she was sitting next to her mother’s purse. When Javarius got out of his car seat, the girl said, he sat in her lap. As she was playing a game on her phone, she heard a gunshot. Then, she saw Javarius falling to the ground, court documents said.
Keiara Bickett was charged wtih neglect of a dependent resulting in death. On Friday, September 5, a judge issued a no-contact order for Bickett with her surviving 9-year-old daughter. Should she be convicted of her charge, she faces up to 40 years in prison.
This situation has left the family devastated. Bickett’s mother, Melissa Etheridge, called the incident an “absolute accident,” but defended her daughter, saying that she would never harm her children.
“She may have had negligence for not having the gun in a safe place, but she would never harm any of her children,” Etheridge said. “She loves her kids to death. It’s tearing me up. It’s tearing her daughter up.”