A Georgia father has been arrested after his three-year-old son accessed a firearm and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a home. Prosecutors are now seeking involuntary manslaughter charges, more than seven months after the fatal incident.
Dante Vinson, who now lives in Oglethorpe, south of Macon, is charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless conduct in connection with the March death of his son, Kamron West.
Investigators said the toddler somehow obtained a gun at a residence in Butler, Georgia, before suffering the fatal injury.
The arrest followed an extensive investigation into how Kamron reached the weapon and whether the tragedy could have been avoided.
The shooting occurred on Saturday, March 7. Deputies were dispatched to the property at about 5:20 p.m. after receiving reports that a person had been shot.
As officers made their way to the scene, they were informed that the victim was a young child.
Kamron’s mother had already placed him in her vehicle and was driving toward Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in an urgent effort to obtain medical care.
Emergency crews met the vehicle on the road and took over the attempt to treat and save the child.
Dante Vinson was arrested after his young son, Kamron West, died in March after gaining access to a gun inside a Georgia home
Vinson is facing felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless conduct charges over how Kamron was able to reach the firearm
Despite the emergency response and efforts to revive him, Kamron succumbed to his injuries.
His mother, Joanna Nicole Vinson, later described the frantic measures she took as she fought to keep her son alive.
In a heartbreaking Facebook post published the day after the shooting, she said she performed CPR, gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and applied pressure to the wound.
‘Mommy tried, mommy tried baby mommy tried,’ she wrote. ‘Mouth to mouth, cpr, holding the pressure! Mommy tried.’
‘You left me baby you left me. Where do I go from here where lord where. What is the reason Jesus please God give me strength.’
The shooting led to a joint investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and detectives with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators spent more than seven months reconstructing what happened, concentrating on how the firearm became accessible to the three-year-old.
The inquiry eventually resulted in Vinson’s arrest, which the sheriff’s office announced last Wednesday.
MUST READ: Woman Arrested in American’s Death After Costa Rica Manhunt
Authorities have not said how Kamron reached the gun, where it was stored or whether the weapon had been secured
Kamron’s mother, Joanna Nicole Vinson, performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while trying to save her son. She is pictured with Dante Vinson
Kamron’s grieving mother shared multiple tributes online after her son’s death
Officials have not disclosed where the gun had been stored, whether it was loaded or unsecured, or how long Kamron may have had access to it before the shooting.
They did say, however, that the criminal allegations stem from the circumstances that allowed the child to reach the firearm.
‘This was an extremely tragic incident involving the loss of an innocent three-year-old child,’ Taylor County Sheriff John Sawyer said in a statement.
‘No investigation or criminal charge can undo the loss of a young life.’
Sawyer said the case should remind gun owners of the potentially devastating consequences of allowing children access to firearms.
He urged people who keep guns in their homes to store them securely and ensure they cannot be reached by children.
‘A moment of carelessness can result in consequences that can never be reversed,’ Sawyer cautioned.
Six months after her son’s death, Joanna Vinson said she continued to struggle with the loss and repeatedly found herself reliving the moments surrounding his final breaths.
Kamron’s death prompted a lengthy investigation involving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and local sheriff’s deputies
Relatives continue sharing online tributes as the family mourns the young boy’s death
‘6 months and it seems like forever since I seen your sweet face. 6 months I’ve fought so hard with this depression,’ she wrote in September.
‘6 months of replaying my scream when I got the news. 6 months replaying you looking at me while you take your final breaths.’
She added: ‘2 years was not enough time I deserved more than what I got. 6 months of feeling like I’m living in hell!’
The grieving mother concluded: ‘I swear mommy is trying so hard to get on the right path to be with you again, just know I’m not giving up. I love you my handsome man! Kisses to heaven. MY HARDEST GOODBYE.’
