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Leaders in the Memphis community are working together to discuss methods on how to keep children from having access to guns after a local child was killed by the use of an unsecured firearm.
An apartment complex in the Frayser area of Memphis was the scene where 4-year-old, Ayden Robinson, was accidentally shot and killed by his 3-year-old brother (whose name has not been released) who found the gun inside of a dresser in their home and began to play with it.
According to WREG-Memphis, the brothers were alone in a room when the shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. The wounded toddler was transported to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in critical condition. He died a couple of hours later. Details on how many times little Ayden was shot were not available.
“Violence isn’t normal. It isn’t normal for out babies to not reach old age,” Pastor Deandre Brown said.
“We need to drive this point home to adults that have weapons in their homes,” Councilman Berlin Boyd added.
Precious Wright and Travis Robinson are the boys’ parents and are not being charged in this case. They are grieving the loss of one child, and trying to help explain and manage the guilt of the other, while also trying to figure out how to pay for his funeral.
A GoFundMe account has been created for those who want to contribute.
Nathaniel Wilkins, Wright’s boyfriend admitted to Memphis Police that the gun belonged to him and he is responsible for leaving it unattended around the children. WREG details that Wilkins was arrested hours after the shooting and is now facing reckless homicide charges.
“I never thought I’d be wearing a ‘Rest In Peace’ shirt of my son, with his name on it. Or put ‘Long Live Ayden, his picture or his name. I never expected it,” Robinson to Fox13.
Along with announcing the arrest of Wilkins, the Twitter account for the Memphis Police Department issued a reminder for adults to secure firearms away from children.
“You have to be more careful,” mother and neighbor, Ranay Calhoun said. “If y’all have little babies in the house it has to be where they can’t get to it, not even climbing on a chair or nothing.”
After the shooting, community leaders are now advocating for the use of gun locks in an effort to prevent future tragedies. The locks are available for free through the Memphis Police who have provided details on how to obtain them from an area precinct.
The 4-year-old victim has been identified as Ayden Robinson. Please remember as adults, we are responsible for keeping our firearms secured and away from children. FREE gunlocks are available at any police precinct.
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) June 25, 2019
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