HALIFAX, Va. – Virginia State Police have charged a 22-year-old man in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy earlier this year in Halifax County.
Jakye Shariq Dabbs, of Halifax County, faces one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, one felony count of child abuse/neglect, and one misdemeanor count of failure to secure a loaded weapon so as to endanger the life of a child under 14 years of age.
Police arrested Dabbs on December 3 in connection with the July death in the town of Halifax.
At about 12:45 a.m. on July 6, Halifax police responded to a residence in the 5100 block of Halifax Road for a report of a shooting.
Officers arrived and found a 3-year-old boy who had been shot, according to Virginia State Police.
The boy was taken to Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital, where he succumbed to his injury.
The medical examiner’s found that the boy died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Virginia State Police.
At the time of the shooting, police believed the shooting to be accidental in nature.
A handgun belonging to Dabbs was found inside the residence.
He was also inside the residence at the time of the shooting, along with two other adults and another child.
Police said that no one else was hurt in the shooting.
The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office is investigating the incident.