Who are Jacob and Kimberly Grayson? Indiana parents charged after son, 6, fatally SHOT sister, 5
MUNCIE, INDIANA: A six-year-old boy accidentally shot dead his five-year-old sister at their filthy Indiana home, and now their parents are facing serious neglect charges.
Emergency responders discovered the girl, who has not been identified, with a gunshot wound to the head early Tuesday afternoon, July 26, 2022, at the residence in Muncie, located 60 miles from Indianapolis. Deputy Police Chief Melissa Criswell revealed that Jacob and Kimberly Grayson, aged 28 and 27 respectively, were preliminarily charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and three other counts of neglect. The father told investigators that his son took out one of two loaded handguns from a safe and shot his sister. The victim was rushed to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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An officer noted in an affidavit how the six-year-old told detectives that "the key was in the keyhole and he simply turned it, pushed on the door, and it opened." He added that he "accidentally shot" his sister "while playing with the gun." Kimberly told the authorities that she had been asleep for barely five minutes in her bedroom, where the safe was located. According to the affidavit, the safe was on a "very low dresser" well within the reach of the boy, who told police he opened the safe and removed the firearm while his mother was napping. The parents also revealed that their son had opened the safe before and that they had taken the boy to a shooting range to teach him how to fire a handgun.
#BREAKING: A 5-year-old girl has died after a shooting in Muncie. Police say they responded with EMS/Fire to a home in the 2800 block of S. Monroe & learned a gun had been discharged, striking her. She was taken to BMH, where she was pronounced dead. @FOX59 @CBS4Indy pic.twitter.com/uCc7RRiYWg
— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) July 26, 2022
Responding officers described living conditions in the house as "deplorable," saying there was "food, trash, animal feces and furniture strewn throughout the house." They also noticed what they believed to be feces smeared on walls and that the children's beds were basically stained mattresses on the floor with no sheets or blankets. Deputy Chief Criswell confirmed that Jacob and Kimberly had been arrested and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig consulted with police in the wake of the shooting.
Jacob secured his release from the Delaware County jail by posting a $65,000 bond. His wife, on the other hand, remained in custody under the same bond at the time of publication. It's worth noting that neither parent has prior charges against them.
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Police Chief Nate Sloan said on Wednesday, July 27, that it was "every gun owner's responsibility to store and care for their firearms appropriately." He continued, "Guns should never be in reach of or accessible to children or those who cannot be trusted to handle them. In a home with children, firearms should be stored in a quality locked safe, preferably one designed for gun storage." The police chief insisted that gun ownership was "a heavy burden," and that ignoring basic safety guidelines "puts our most vulnerable citizens at considerable risk," the Star Press reported.