FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flager County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 1-year-old girl was shot and killed Sunday night. The shooting may have been accidental, the sheriff said, but a person of interest has been identified and arrested on a separate charge.
The sheriff’s office said it responded to “a frantic 911 call” reporting the shooting in a Palm Coast home just before midnight. When deputies arrived, they found the child had been shot in the head. The 18-month-old girl was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. The sheriff said the child did not touch the gun that killed her, which he said is a firearm known as an “American tactical multi-caliber assault pistol.”
“The child is an innocent victim in this case, with no actions by the child’s part playing into effect to her death,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said during a Monday news conference.
The sheriff’s office said Monday morning detectives are still gathering evidence and talking to the eight adults who were in the home at the time of the shooting, including the child’s mother, and no arrests have been made in connection to the death. Staly said that all eight people inside the rental home “have not been totally cooperative.”
Staly added that CJ Nelson Jr., 21, was arrested following the incident and accused of violation of probation for a gun-related offense. Staly said no one has been ruled out, but that Nelson is the main person of interest in the shooting death. His relationship to the child is unclear.
“So this will be based on forensics and good police work and continuing interviews with the eight individuals in there. That’s why we’re not ruling anyone out in that house. While we have a primary person of interest, it would be a lot easier if everybody would tell us the truth, and exactly what went on in that house,” he said.
A large amount of drugs were also found in the home by investigators, Staly said, including 420 grams of marijuana and 11 grams of a white powdery substance believed to be either cocaine or heroin. Staly said investigators do not believe the case was drug-related at this point.
Staly said investigators know where the child was and where the gun was when she was shot but did not release that information due to the ongoing investigation.
The death has not officially been ruled an accidental death, and Staly said someone in the home could face manslaughter or negligent homicide charges.
“This is a tragic situation, and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of this little girl. This was a young life cut way too short,” Staly said. “While God has a new little angel, we will investigate this incident along with the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Investigation Unit until all facts are known.”
Eileen Nyaffe lives near the home on Ranwood Lane and saw flashing lights and a hysterical woman early Monday morning.
“Oh my gosh, it’s very heartbreaking,” Nyaffe said. “Very sad I have no clue how that would even happen I have no clue on anything and I can’t imagine. I just feel so sorry for the family.
During Monday’s news conference, Staly also mentioned an unrelated incident from the weekend in Palm Coast where a 19-month-old boy drowned in a backyard pool.
“I would just like to remind parents and friends that have pools to always know where toddlers are, always know where young children are,” he said. “Use the alarms that can be added to sliding glass doors to let you know somebody went into the pool area and just know where your children or children that are visiting are at all times. And this is again another tragic case.”
Staly said the accidental death was especially tragic because the family of the boy who died was staying at their friend’s house because their house had been recently flooded, possibly during the recently passed Hurricane Idalia.