Jacksonville police investigate after 2-year-old girl shot

Jacksonville police say a 2-year-old girl is expected to recover after being shot and wounded Friday night at a Northside home.

The toddler, whose name wasn't released, sustained a gunshot wound to the foot that is non-life-threatening, said Lt. Shawn Coarsey of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

She is the second 2-year-old shot within two months in Jacksonville, according to Times-Union records.

Coarsey said three adults, twin 2-year-old girls and a 6-year-old boy, were inside a home in the 100 block of East 44th Street when the shooting happened shortly before 9 p.m. Police were called about 9:10 p.m. when the mother of the injured girl took her to UF Health Jacksonville, Coarsey said.

"Thankfully, it's non-life-threatening. Obviously, it's a tragedy when a child gets shot," Coarsey said.

Detectives hadn't determined whether one of the children accidentally fired the gun, he said.

Coarsey said the adults heard a gunshot and ran into a front bedroom where they found the girl wounded. About that time, the child's parents arrived, scooped her up and took her to the hospital, he said.

He said it was too early in the investigation to say who fired the gun or owned it. Detectives were interviewing the people inside the home when the shooting happened, Coarsey said.

The victim's mother and grandmother live at the home with an adult family friend. The friend and his girlfriend were at the house when the shooting happened, Coarsey said.

In a separate case, Jayden James Piedra died Feb. 11 after accidentally shooting himself inside a Jammes Road apartment on the Westside.

Police have said Jayden, his 7-year-old brother and their mother were visiting her boyfriend — who lived at the apartment — when the shooting happened.

The Sheriff's Office subsequently arrested Jayden's 29-year-old mother, Donna Anteonette Crump-Piedra, on two counts of child neglect and two more of culpable negligence involving a firearm. Her boyfriend, Lephabion Emaul Griggs, 25, was arrested on charges of culpable negligence/improperly stored gun and violation of probation.

The Sheriff's Office said the loaded gun had been left out on a table as Crump-Piedra and Griggs slept on a couch. The brothers were playing with the weapon when Jayden shot himself, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office also said the gun previously had been reported stolen, and investigators are looking into how Griggs had possession of it.

Police are emphasizing that all gun owners lock up their firearms as mandated under Florida law or use a trigger lock.

Anyone with information about the girl's shooting Friday night can contact the Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and receive a possible reward up to $3,000, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

Teresa Stepzinski: (904) 359-4075