Man arrested after child finds unsecured gun, shoots sister in Miami-Dade home: cops
Officers arrested a man after they say a child grabbed an unsecured firearm and shot his or her 4-year-old sister in the head inside a Miami-Dade County home, police announced Monday morning.
Quavanta Demettris Ennels, 25, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $7,500 bond as of Monday afternoon, county jail records show.
“The investigation revealed that Quavanta Ennels, the owner of the firearm used by the minor, is a convicted felon who was in possession of the firearm,” Miami-Dade police said Monday in a news release.
The girl was taken to Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center, where she remained in critical condition Monday morning, police said. Authorities didn’t say the age of the child who pulled the trigger.
“She is fighting for her life,” Martin police spokesman Detective Andre Martin told reporters near the crime scene Sunday night.
Around 3:41 p.m. Sunday, first responders rushed to the 8180 block of Northwest 21st Avenue in response to a report of a minor shot. Upon arrival, they found a small child with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
There were four siblings inside the home — ages 2, 3, 4 and 6 — and their mother when the shooting happened, police said. Ennels is the mother’s boyfriend, and lives in the same home, police said.
According to Ennels police report, the siblings were by themselves in the bedroom where Ennels had left the gun inside a bookbag. The child took the gun out of the bag and shot their sister in the head.
Martin said the firearm was “stored in an unsecured manner.”
“A firearm should be stored in a secured, lock box safe or in a place that is not accessible to small children or any person who should not have access to a firearm,” Martin said.
Martin said that owning a gun is a constitutional right that bears great responsibility, and encouraged adults to discuss with kids what to do if they find one. He recommended to tell children not to touch or play with guns, and to get the attention of an adult if they spot one.
“We urge each and every member in our community — whether you own a firearm or not — to discuss safe firearm management, ownership with your children,” Martin said. “Guns are not toys.”
Can convicted felons own guns in Florida?
In Florida, it is illegal for convicted felons to possess guns unless they have had their civil rights restored or the gun qualifies as an antique firearm, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says on its website.
Ennels admitted to investigators to illegally buying a Taurus G26C 9mm gun about three months before the shooting for $250, according to his arrest report. He also acknowledged that he is a convicted felon and doesn’t have the right to own a gun, police said.
In 2016, Ennels was convicted and sentenced to four years for armed robbery in Duval County, Florida Department of Corrections records show. He was released in 2018.
This story will be updated as more information is available.
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 8:37 AM.
