SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Warrants have revealed what led to the deadly shooting of a 2-year-old in Sandy Springs.
Investigators say the boy shot himself with his father’s gun at their apartment on Sandalwood Drive Wednesday afternoon. Police have charged Richard Willis with second-degree murder and cruelty to children in the second degree.
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According to the warrants, Willis son, River, found the gun in a fanny pack on his parents’ bed. Willis told officers he tossed a fanny pack there after the family came home from his wife’s medical procedure.
Before the shooting, River came downstairs during his nap time and asked his dad to lie down with him. Willis told him to go back upstairs and he would come up soon.
Minutes later, Willis said he heard gunshots and ran upstairs. He found his fanny pack open and the gun by his son’s leg. River accidentally shot himself and died at the scene.
Willis was booked into the Fulton County jail on Thursday morning.
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