4-year-old girl hospitalized after shooting self in Cheverly apartment: police
CHEVERLY, Md. - A young girl is recovering from a bullet wound after an accidental shooting in Prince George's County.
It turns out that the owner of that gun has a violent history.
It happened at the Cheverly Station apartments on Landover Road.
Detectives with the Prince George's County Police Department told FOX 5 that a 4-year-old girl was playing hide and seek when she found a loaded ghost gun under the bed and accidentally shot herself in the arm.
Ghost guns are unserialized, self-made weapons that are fully functional.
Detectives believe it belonged to 20-year-old Jayvon Thomas - a relative of the little girl.
He is currently in custody, facing multiple weapons charges.
The incident happened around 10:45 Sunday night, and police said no one else in the apartment was hurt.
According to data from Everytown Research, there have been 86 unintentional shootings by children in the U.S. so far this year, resulting in 55 non-fatal injuries.
One neighbor we spoke with wanted to emphasize the importance of gun safety and making sure weapons are locked up and unloaded.
"I can't really speak on the situation too much because I don't know, but that's why we practice gun safety, being responsible, and knowing how to properly secure your weapons so mishaps like that don't happen," said Edward Belcher.
Jayvon Thomas, 20, of Hyattsville, Md.
FOX 5 did some digging and found that in January, Thomas was charged with murder in D.C. for the November 2023 killing of a professional boxer.
According to court records, Thomas's defense asked for a release in April, and Judge Robert Okun granted that release in the way of home confinement, even though he is still facing a murder charge in the District.
"We can make all the laws in the world, but we need to be able to get somebody like that off the streets," said Prince George's County Councilmember Jolene Ivey. "It's not just the gun that's the problem, he's the problem. So, we need to number one, have fewer guns, and number two, people like that, who shouldn't have guns at all, need to be locked up."
The U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. told FOX 5 that Thomas was released over their objection.
Neighbors said he moved into the apartment just a few weeks ago, and they were concerned because they saw he was wearing an ankle monitor.
As for the little girl, she is expected to physically be okay.