The 8-year-old boy who loaded a rifle and repeatedly shot his 4-year-old sister will not face charges.
The prosecutor's office said on Wednesday it will not be filing a delinquent child complaint with the juvenile court, because a child that age lacks the capacity to understand court proceedings and legally cannot spend time at a juvenile facility. Instead, the issue will be brought to the juvenile court to find appropriate interventions to address the boy's needs.
The boy's mother, however, has been charged with two counts of child endangering and is currently in jail.
Alyssa Edwards, Mother of 8-year-old boy charged with 2 counts of child endangering after 8-year-old son shot 4-year-old daughter. Girl survived. Police say mother left kids alone at Hayesville home. @WEWS pic.twitter.com/4yY0x8D1ts
— Bob Jones WEWS (@bobjonesTV) March 5, 2018
According to deputies, the incident happened on Saturday at their home in Hayesville Village, which sits east of Mansfield and west of Wooster.
According to Chief Deputy Carl Richert, Alyssa Edwards, 29, left her children home alone when she went to work Saturday morning. Her son contacted her while she was at work to tell her that his sister had been hurt.
Edwards came home, cleaned up the blood on a bed cover, noticed her daughter was injured, but went back to work at 11 a.m., according to Richert.
Sometime between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., Edwards came home again and took the children to hospital, Richert said.
Richert said the girl was shot three or four times. Luckily, she survived.
While they couldn't comment on this specific case, the Ashland County Children Services released the following statement:
"This is a very concerning and tragic situation. As a social service agency, we take the protection of all children very seriously Due to confidentiality and privacy laws, this agency is prohibited from disclosing any information."
The boy was removed from the home, and their mother was taken into custody.
It’s unclear if the shooting was intentional or accidental, but Richert said the 8-year-old was able to load the magazine and ammunition, which was stored separately from the .22-caliber rifle that was used to shoot the girl.
