CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Officials are investigating a shooting that killed a 3-year-old boy in southwest Charlotte Friday morning. Later in the day, police said the boy's father would face charges.
Just after 10 a.m., Medic said it responded to a shooting along O'Hara Drive, near Red Hickory Lane.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said when they arrived at the home, they found the boy with a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries. He has since been identified as Jaxon Truitt.
Later in the afternoon, CMPD said 37-year-old Richard Allen Truitt - identified as the child's father - was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to secure a firearm from a minor.
A friend of the boy's mother said situations involving guns and the family has been a concern.
Jessica Redman said, "There's been multiple cases that have been called with the police about the gun stuff and it wasn't taken away."
One neighbor told WCNC Charlotte that Jaxon Truitt and his mom moved into the home just months ago.
Bond for Truitt was set at $10,000. It remained that way after a court appearance on Thursday, April 20. If he makes the unsecured bond to attend his son's funeral, he'll be required to wear an electronic monitor.
During the hearing, prosecutors argued against the bond conditions, noting Truitt's criminal history. They said he was tied to a domestic violence incident in 2021 and was drunk with a rifle and pistol in 2020. More recently, Truitt said he was accused of breaking his wife's nose in January 2023, and on March 24 allegedly chased her outside and took aim at her with a gun. He reportedly tracked her with the gun's laser until she left.
The prosecution noted evidence supports the gun Truitt allegedly used to take aim at his wife was the same gun that killed Jaxon.
In an interview after court Thursday, Jaxon's mother Paula Layton told WCNC Charlotte reporter Richard DeVayne that her son would be laid to rest on Saturday, April 22. She also shared her own message with parents who own weapons.
"Please, just secure them safely. Please put them up so that nobody has to go through this ever again," she said.
Layton said in court Truitt's previous charges were accurate.
Note: WCNC instituted a new policy in March 2021 regarding the broadcast or posting of mugshots.
WCNC will only air or post a mugshot if the person has been formally charged with a crime and in a few other cases. The exceptions include: If it appears the person could be a danger to themselves or others or if they are wanted by authorities; to differentiate between people with a common name; if the photos could encourage more victims to come forward. The news-editorial leadership may also decide to use a mugshot based on the severity of the crime(s) committed and/or the level of public interest in the crime and ensuing criminal proceedings.
WCNC Charlotte is choosing to show the mugshots of the suspects in this case because of the severity of the crime.
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