SC child shot themselves in the face. Parents to be charged say sheriff’s office
The parents of a Sumter County six-year-old who shot himself in the face with a .45 caliber handgun will be charged, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Jimmy Epps and Kaja Singleton turned themselves in to investigators at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Friday. Both were charged with unlawful conduct toward a child and were given a $10,000 bond.
The unnamed child was shot while at home at around 10 p.m. on Oct. 14.
The unnamed child, who is autistic, was on a bed with his Singleton nearby, said Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Hampton Gardner at a press conference following the shooting.
The mother reported seeing a flash, then realized that the child had been shot in the face with the pistol, Gardner said.
The mother was rushing the child to the hospital in her own vehicle when she saw an ambulance at a gas station, according to Gardner. That ambulance then took the child to Prisma Health Richland hospital in Columbia.
Epps told deputies he kept the handgun on top of their dresser for protection and was unsure how his son got his hands on the weapon.
There were no other injuries reported and the child’s condition remains unknown.
“Weapons should be secured,” Gardner said repeatedly at the press conference. “The No. 1 killer of children are handguns.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 11:44 AM.