A 6-year-old boy in Nashville shot himself in the head with a .380 caliber pistol from his father's pocket, authorities said. The father, Steven Lamont Phillips, faces criminal homicide charges after the child died in hospital. Phillips had found the gun while doing yard work and carried it inside.
Steven Lamont Phillips, 56, was caring for his son, Steven Lamont Ricks, at a home on the 3100 block of Qualynn Drive on Saturday, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Phillips' sister, the boy's legal guardian, was present but had gone to nap. While doing yard work, Phillips found a .380 pistol in a ditch, placed it in his pocket, and returned inside to play with the child in the living room, an arrest affidavit states. Exhausted, he fell asleep on the floor with the gun still in his pocket. Phillips awoke to a gunshot and muzzle flash, discovering that his son had shot himself in the head. He yelled for his sister to call 911, and the boy was rushed to a hospital, where he was placed on life support before being pronounced dead. Phillips, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing weapons, was arrested the next day. He was initially charged with aggravated child neglect and unlawful gun possession, but the charges were upgraded to criminal homicide. When questioned why he did not report the found gun, Phillips said his phone was dead and that he forgot about it while playing with his son, per the affidavit. A GoFundMe for the boy, remembered as 'Junebug' and described as having autism, notes that he 'brought so much joy and life to our family' before his life was 'cut short in the most heartbreaking way.'