Inset: Lanecia Bennett. Background: Apartment in Decatur, Georgia, where Bennett”s 5-year-old son allegedly shot his twin (WAGA/YouTube).
A Georgia woman is facing a murder charge after her 5-year-old son got ahold of a gun and accidentally shot his twin brother to death, authorities say.
Lanecia Bennett, 25, stands accused of second-degree murder and child cruelty in the death of her 5-year-old son Jeremiah George Jr. The shooting occurred around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in an apartment in the 4400 block of Pleasant Point Drive in Decatur where they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound. The boy was rushed to the hospital but he died. Cops with the DeKalb Police Department arrested his mother that day.
A bond motion filed in DeKalb County Superior Court says the twins were playing in their mother’s bedroom when they discovered an loaded, unsecured gun inside her purse, which was located on a bedside table.
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The surviving twin accidentally shot and killed Jeremiah, according to police.
Cops said no other adults beside Bennett were in the home home at the time.
“As investigators continue to piece together the events of this tragic shooting, we want to remind the public that if they have guns, it’s important for owners to do what they can to keep guns out of the hands of children,” Blaine Clark, public information officer for DeKalb police wrote in a press release, added that the department offers free gun safes for some firearms.
Bennett was initially held at the DeKalb County jail without bond but her attorneys requested an emergency hearing in Superior Court. A judge on Friday set her bond at $30,000 which she has since posted.
“Ms. Bennett is grieving this heart-wrenching and unexpected loss of her son,” her lawyers wrote. “Her other son need her during this extraordinarily difficult time. In addition, Ms. Bennett now has the devastating task of planning her son’s funeral.”
Local NBC affiliate WXIA spoke with stunned neighbors following the shooting. Chase Houle said he saw the medics go inside the apartment and come out with the boy before administering CPR.
“That could be my child, that could be anyone’s child. I instantly got emotional — like I said, I have a three-year-old and a four-year-old. So, yeah, that was really emotional,” he told the outlet.
