Mom of 4-year-old fatally shot on Christmas eve in Columbia will not be charged, police say
An investigation into the shooting death of a 4-year-old has concluded with no charges filed against the boy’s mother, according to police.
On Christmas Eve, 4-year-old Jah’el E. Walker of Columbia was fatally shot after his mother left him and three of his siblings in a car in a parking lot in 200 block of Harbison Boulevard. Following a weeks’ long investigation, the Columbia Police Department announced Friday that no charges will be filed in the case.
During the investigation, police interviewed witnesses and Walker’s family and reviewed surveillance cameras, according to a news release. Investigators “participated in multiple discussions regarding evidentiary findings and applicable laws with the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office,” the release said.
It was determined that Walker’s mother was “not engaged in any illegal activity at the time of this incident,” the release said. In addition, the gun involved in Walker’s death “was not required to be stored in a secure area within the vehicle.”
Walker’s mother told police that she usually secures her firearm in the console of her car with its magazine in a separate location, according to the release. On the day of Walker’s death, however, the gun was left loaded in a bag in the car, the release said.
The release cited “a lack of communication between parents” about the gun’s location.
“CPD investigators have determined that the loaded gun was temporarily placed in a bag in the vehicle days before the tragedy. The mother was not fully aware ... of the gun’s new location,” the release said.
Surveillance footage revealed that not even three minutes after the boy’s mother walked away from the car, the gun was accidentally discharged, killing Walker, according to the release. One of Walker’s siblings then ran inside the store, alerting the mother of the shooting.
