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Mother arrested after 4-year-old son shoots himself in parking lot: reports
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Mother arrested after 4-year-old son shoots himself in parking lot: reports

A California mother has reportedly been arrested and charged after her 4-year-old son shot himself earlier this week.

According to local outlets including CBS SacramentoABC affiliate KXTV and NBC affiliate KCRALatisha Walker, 26, was arrested after the Sacramento Police Department said her son shot himself with a gun around 1:45 p.m. in the 4500 block of Mack Road on Friday, Oct. 25.

Walker’s bond was set at $75,000, and she now faces three felony charges — possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, criminal possession of a firearm and endangering the life of a child — according to CBS Sacramento.

According to her custody status on the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office inmate webpage, Walker was released on Saturday, October 26.

A spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Sunday, Oct. 27.

Sacramento Police Department vehicle.

Sacramento Police Department/Facebook


The shooting happened inside a vehicle in a parking lot, KCRA reported. The station added that the child is expected to survive after being transported to a local hospital.

Walker was inside a business at the time of the shooting, KCRA said, citing multiple witnesses.

According to CBS Sacramento, customers at nearby businesses heard the boy screaming for help. Shynice Cordoba, a 19-year-old woman who was in a nail salon at the time, told reporters that while she didn’t hear any gunshots, she did hear her mother screaming and a “bang.”

“I come out, he’s just laying on the floor,” Cordoba said. “I need something to put pressure on his wound… I get the tissue and I put them on the wound. He was talking to me and I was talking to him, he was very scared.”

“He kept saying he shot himself, shot himself. So I said, “No problem. It’s good,” she continued.

Cordoba added: “He wanted me to take him. But I had to reassure him and tell him no, you can’t wake up. You have to stay here. And we talked about Paw Patrol and how old he was and other things. Until they got here.”

A police spokesman told CBS Sacramento that the child received medical attention at the scene before being taken to the hospital.

According to KCRA, the first responder “put pressure on his wound” and helped “keep him on his side.”

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Anthony Gamble said Sacramento Bee that the shooting was under investigation, with officers looking into how the boy got hold of the gun.

Walker will make his first court appearance on Wednesday, Oct. 31, according to CBS Sacramento.