JAIDEN PRATT - 4 yo - / Accused: Father, Marquiez Deshon Pratt - Houston, TX

4-year-old kills himself with dad's stolen gun By Berenice Garcia, NBC News


Houston Police Department
Marquiez Deshon Pratt


A 4-year-old Houston boy fatally shot himself with his father's stolen handgun Sunday morning, police say.

Marquiez Deshon Pratt, 21, was asleep on the couch when his son, Jaiden, picked up the gun and shot himself in the stomach, according to a report from the Houston Police Department.

The weapon, a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, was stolen during a burglary in 2011, according to the police report.

Jaiden was spending the weekend with his father when the incident occurred. The boy's mother dropped him off every Friday and was scheduled to pick him up Sunday at noon, according to the Houston Chronicle.

After the shooting, the elder Pratt ran out of his second-floor apartment with his son in his arms, yelling to his neighbors for help, according to the Houston Chronicle.

When officers arrived, Pratt handed his son over to them and ran back to his apartment.

While some officers pursued Pratt, others performed CPR on the young victim, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officers who followed Pratt into his apartment discovered marijuana and crack cocaine along with weighing scales and other items used to sell drugs, according to the police report.

Pratt was arrested and charged with injury to a child by omission and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

"He's in mourning. He's in pain and feels a lot of self guilt," Sgt. Brian Harris, of the Houston PD's homicide department, told the Houston Chronicle. "He kept saying, 'I messed up. I messed up.'"

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17089689-4-year-old-kills-himself-with-dads-stolen-gun?lite

Another preventable death. The mother should have known about this. It's hard to miss drugs out in the open. Sad that another little angel is gone. William

OMG, the poor little baby paid for the sins of his father.

William, I agree, where was the mother?

Neighbor says she heard arguing before 4-year-old fatally shoots self by KHOU.com staff khou.com
Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:03 PM Updated yesterday at 4:02 PM

HOUSTON – A Houston father said he was asleep when his 4-year-old son found a loaded gun and fatally shot himself Sunday, but a neighbor said that story may not be true.

The accident happened in the 13500 block of Northborough Drive in north Houston.

Jaiden Pratt somehow got a hold of a gun, then accidentally shot himself in the stomach around 8:45 a.m., according to Houston police. His dad, 31-year-old Marquiez Pratt, said he was sleeping when the gun went off, but a neighbor who lives behind Pratt said she heard noise before the shooting.

“I heard the arguing, a man and a woman, and then I heard a ‘pow,’” the woman described.

When HPD arrived, they found the distraught father outside holding his son. Paramedics tried to revive the child, but it was too late. Jaiden was pronounced dead at the scene and his father was placed under arrest.

Marquiez Pratt was charged with endangering a child and possession of a controlled substance. Police said that he was allegedly dealing drugs from his apartment, and that the weapon the child shot himself with was stolen. They found marijuana and crack cocaine inside the apartment.

Jaiden lived with his mother, but sometimes visited his father on the weekends, detectives said.


http://www.khou.com/news/local/Neighbor-says-she-heard-arguing-before-4-year-old-fatally-shoots-self-193082671.html

In my opinion those that buy the illegal drugs are at fault as well. For every ounce of illegal drugs there are death's associated with it. No matter were it's made you can't take the stain of blood from them. William

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57571423/mexico-drug-war-has-led-to-26121-disappearances/

For those that don't think drugs have any thing to do with death's. Stop the drugs.

William