Deonca Kennedy was arrested by police after the toddler's death
New Orleans Police Department
Jamie Bullen20 January 2016
A three-year-old boy was shot dead when a gun under his grandmother’s pillow went off while they slept.
New Orleans police said a bullet struck the toddler’s chest at his grandmother’s home at around 2am on Wednesday.
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The boy’s grandmother, Deonca Kennedy, 42, was arrested for negligent homicide, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and child desertion.
Police say Kennedy works as a security guard and was the only person home at the time of the shooting.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Negligent homicide carries a five-year prison sentence while those convicted of second-degree cruelty face up to 40 years behind bars.
