KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The investigation is ongoing into how a three-year-old girl was shot inside a home on Kansas City’s east side on Wednesday.
Little Ta’Riyah Davis was rushed to the hospital in critical condition Wednesday afternoon from her house near Chestnut and East 38th Street.
According to the police report, Ta’Riyah’s mother called 911 to report her daughter had shot herself. When police arrived, they found the mother holding Ta’Riyah. Officers say there was blood on Ta’Riyah’s shirt and it was apparent she had a wound to the abdomen.
Police say Ta’Riyah’s mom told them she was asleep in the front bedroom and awoke to the sound of a gunshot, rushing to find her children in the back bedroom. She said she saw Ta’Riyah with the revolver and saw that she had been shot. She called police and upon questioning, told them the gun belonged to her boyfriend, the children’s father.
Ta’Riyah’s five-year-old brother told police he found the gun that morning on the fireplace mantel in the living room. He said it was behind a mirror. He says he took the gun into the back bedroom, where Ta’Riyah was shot.
Police say the .38 special was loaded with five live rounds and one spent shell casing.
A family friend was asleep on the dining room floor at the time of the gunshot, but Ken Lee says he didn’t even hear a gunshot go off and only woke up when police arrived.
“I seen there was blood coming from her shirt and they said she got shot,” he said.
Officers haven’t yet determined whether the child accidentally shot herself or if her five-year-old brother accidentally shot her. Lee said he didn’t even know there was a gun in the house.
“I was in shock. Like I stood there and didn’t believe it, I didn’t believe it because she wasn’t screaming or crying or none of that,” he said.
Ta’Riyah’s grandmother, Dana Ward, said the bullet damaged her liver and kidneys.
“I know she’s out of surgery, she’s still alive and that’s the greatest thing ever and I know we believe in the Lord, so he’s going to pull her through,” Ward said.
Earlier report:
