Toddler dead after finding gun in a couch, shooting himself: Officials
A. 2-year-old boy who got a gun died He shot himself at a home in Southern California, authorities said.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, the child’s mother, Jamaria Cobb, 20, and her boyfriend, Armand Bright, 52, were arrested for child abuse causing great bodily injury or death.
The attack occurred July 16 in Highland, Calif., a town of about 57,000 people in San Bernardino County, about 65 miles east of Los Angeles.
The sheriff’s office said deputies were dispatched to the home around 5:27 p.m. on a report of a 2-year-old child shot.
Authorities said in a July 17 news release that they began life-saving measures on the child before emergency medical personnel intervened and transported him to the hospital, where he died a short time later. release.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials say a two-year-old boy died after grabbing a gun and shooting himself.
While Cobb and Bright were at the home, the boy accessed a gun hidden between two seat cushions on the couch and shot himself, investigators said. Another child in the home was abducted by Child and Family Services, sheriff’s officials said.
The couple was incarcerated at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and bail was set at more than $1.3 million, the Victorville Daily Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. It was not immediately clear whether they had lawyers who could comment on their behalf. USA TODAY reached out to the San Bernardino County Public Defender’s Office.
Accidental shootings among children are a big problem in the US
The California shooting is one of more than 140 incidents in 2026 in which a child accesses a gun and unintentionally shoots himself or someone else, according to a database. Every City for Gun Safety. As of July 9, there have been 49 deaths and 97 injuries in 142 accidental shootings, according to the tracker. The group found this happened approximately 360 times per year between 2015 and 2024.
A 4-year-old Georgia boy who was vacationing with his family in Florida shot and killed a 2-year-old boy after finding an unsecured gun in the car on July 12. USA TODAY Network in Florida. The day before, a 1-year-old boy fatally shot himself after his father allegedly left a gun safe open at a home in Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
More: Surprising percentage of homes unlocked, loaded with guns, endangering children, study finds
According to the organization, there are approximately 6.7 million children in the United States living in homes with unsecured guns, meaning guns are stored unlocked and loaded. Brady In the 2025 report. This number has increased over the past 10 years from approximately 4.6 million in 2015.
in california, the law prohibits There are severe penalties for leaving a gun unsecured by a safety mechanism or gun safe, and leaving the gun within reach of a child if injury or death results.
This article first appeared in the Victorville Daily Press: Little boy found a gun on the sofa and shot himself to death: Authorities
