Two toddlers shot inside an SC home and two adults arrested, sheriff says
Two toddlers were shot inside a South Carolina home Sunday night, according to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office. The children’s mother and another adult were arrested, the sheriff’s office said Monday.
The children, a 2- and 4-year-old, each were shot a single time, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. One child was shot in the hand and the other was shot in the foot, according to the release.
Neither of the wounds were life-threatening, Sheriff Lee Foster said in the release. Further information on the victims’ conditions was not available.
At about 6:35 p.m., deputies responded to a home in the 1000 block of Wilson Road where a caller said a child had been shot, according to the release. Before deputies got to the Newberry home near I-26, they learned that a second child might have been injured in the shooting, the sheriff’s office said.
The first deputy to get to the home found the two injured toddlers, according to the release. EMS took one of the victims to an area trauma center, while the second child was airlifted by helicopter to another hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
It was a chaotic scene at the home, Foster said. In addition to the victims, there were two other children — a 4-month-old and a 7-year-old — at the home, according to the release.
No other injuries were reported.
According to Foster, a preliminary investigation shows that the unattended children might have been playing with an unsecured gun that one of them got from a closet in the home when the shooting occurred.
Investigators have not determined which child pulled the trigger and fired the gun, according to the release.
There was no word about the number of shots fired.
At about 10 p.m., the sheriff’s office said that deputies were still at the home speaking with witnesses and occupants, gathering forensic materials and other evidence as the shooting continues to be investigated.
The children’s mother, 28-year-old Tyresa Najae Cunningham, and the father of one of the shooting victims, 21-year-old Tyleik Jaewon Sanders, were in the home but otherwise occupied when the gun was fired, according to the release. Cunningham said she was cleaning the home, while Sanders told deputies he was in the shower when the shooting happened, the sheriff’s office said.
Both adults were arrested Sunday night and charged with unlawful neglect toward a child, according to the release. Sanders was also charged with one count of obstruction of justice because the sheriff’s office said that he disposed of the gun before deputies arrived. The gun has yet to be recovered.
Both Cunningham and Sanders are being held in the Newberry County Detention Center, and no bond has been set for either adult, jail records show.
“This incident is a tragic and preventable example of the dangers posed by unsecured firearms,” Foster said in the release. “Owning or possessing a firearm by someone that is not prohibited is one’s right. However, parents especially, should make sure that a loaded firearm can not be easily obtained by ... children, (who) do not understand the ramifications of a deadly weapon.”
Foster said the scene was chaotic because of the trauma inflicted on the children, and complicated guardianship issues.
There was no word if the unharmed children remained at the home in the custody of any parents or guardians.
“We are thankful additional children were not harmed, and we will continue to emphasize safe and responsible firearm storage in every household,” Foster said. “I appreciate the way the First Responders worked through all of this to insure the children got the proper care.”
This not the first time that either Sanders or Cunningham has been arrested.
In 2023, Cunningham pleaded guilty to an assault & battery charge from an arrest the year before, Newberry County court records show. Prior to that, Cunningham pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge, according to court records.
Sanders has been arrested multiple times in Newberry County, including in July when he was charged with public disorderly conduct, court records show. While he ultimately pleaded guilty to that count, Sanders has two other charges pending from arrests in 2024 and 2025, according to court records.
Last year, Sanders was arrested on a domestic violence (of a high and aggravated nature) charge, and in May 2025, he was charged with possession, conceal, selling, or dispose of stolen vehicle, value $10,000 or more, court records show. Bonds were set at $20,000 and $10,000 on those respective charges, according to court records.
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This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 6:46 AM.
