The parents of the 2-year-old shot and killed in Covington have been charged with manslaughter after police said a loaded handgun was left within reach of their two young children, resulting in their child’s death.
According to his arrest citation, 21-year-old Tashaun Adams told police he and his child’s mother, 23-year-old Selena Farrell, were sleeping in their living room when they woke up to the sound of a gunshot. Adams said he saw his 2-year-old son, Khalil, bleeding and called 911.
Police said Khalil was shot in the chest. Officers who first arrived at the scene rendered aid in the middle of Warren Street before paramedics rushed Khalil to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he later died.
The arrest citation says Adams’ 3-year-old son told an officer at the scene, “Daddy’s gun is in a drawer.”Â
Police said Adams’ handgun was found discarded in some barbecue on the stove. He is charged with second-degree manslaughter and hindering apprehension.
Farrell fled the home before police arrived and never went to the hospital to see her child, Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said.
She was taken into police custody on Thursday for violating her probation. She is also charged with second-degree manslaughter, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and abandonment of a minor.
Covington police said another man, 20-year-old Jeremiah Thomas of Elsmere, was charged with hindering apprehension.