Inset: Tonya Charisse-Annice Johnson (Detroit Police Department). Background: A parking lot on the 9700 block of Harper Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, where the shooting occurred (WJBK/YouTube).
In a tragic incident in Michigan, a mother faces charges after allegedly leaving her five children alone in a vehicle with an unsecured firearm, resulting in her 11-year-old son accidentally shooting and killing his 6-year-old sister.
Tonya Charisse-Annice Johnson, aged 41, has been formally charged with multiple offenses, including three counts of second-degree child abuse, a charge of failing to securely store a firearm leading to death, and four counts of felony firearm. The Detroit Police Department disclosed these charges in a recent announcement.
During a court appearance on Thursday, further details about this heartbreaking case were revealed.
The incident occurred around noon on Monday. Johnson, working as a DoorDash delivery driver, had parked her vehicle at a restaurant on the 9700 block of Harper Avenue in Detroit to collect an order, according to a report by local Fox affiliate WJBK.
Allegedly, Johnson left her five children, whose ages range from 2 to 11 years old, unattended in the car. Inside the vehicle, there was an unsecured handgun, which her 11-year-old son reportedly found.
The boy discharged the weapon, tragically hitting his 6-year-old sister in the head and fatally injuring her, police stated. Authorities responded to the scene at approximately 12:06 p.m., where they found the young girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
The shooting victim was brought to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her name is unclear at this time of writing.
Police investigated the shooting, leading to them bringing charges against Johnson.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Aniela Bosca was harsh in her evaluation of the shooting.
“There is going to be life-long trauma that this young man is going to suffer as a result of shooting his sister,” Bosca said, per WJBK. “Knowing that he killed her, the other children that were in the vehicle watching this happen, and this was negligible.”
Johnson reportedly wiped away tears as she appeared virtually in court on Thursday. Her defense attorney said “nobody feels worse right now” than the defendant.
She is set to appear back in court on March 13.
