Security Guard Charged In 5-Year-Old Boy's Accidental Shooting Death

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A security guard discovered a loaded gun in an alley behind a Leimert Park home last November and then placed it in a bedroom closet, where a 5-year-old boy later discovered it and accidentally shot and killed himself, authorities reported Thursday.

Los Angeles police in a Leimert Park neighborhood where a 5-year-old boy accidentally shot himself with a loaded gun. Nov. 20, 2019. (CBSLA)

Jaylin Burdette, 26, was charged Thursday with one count each of criminal storage of a firearm, unlawful storage of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer reported.

Burdette's mother was the legal guardian and foster mother of the 5-year-old boy who was killed. He was not identified.

The shooting occurred on Nov. 20 in the 2000 block of West 41 Street.

According to authorities, on the morning of Nov. 14, about a week before the shooting, Burdette had been celebrating his birthday at his mother's home when he discovered the loaded gun in an alley behind her home. He then placed it in a document container in the victim's bedroom closet.

It's unclear why he chose to do that.

The boy later discovered the gun, and accidentally shot himself while playing with it on the afternoon of Nov. 20. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he died.

If convicted as charged, Burdette faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

In April of 2019, Feuer brought similar charges against a Pacoima man after his son threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot one of his classmates. L.A. School Police searched the home and found several unloaded and unsecured guns included a .357 revolver in a dresser, along with a .22 caliber handgun and .22 caliber rifle under a mattress.