Boy, 4, accidentally shoots himself dead as dad arrested

11 March 2023 , 22:58

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Police recovered a gun at the home of the boy's father that had blood on it (Image: WFTV)

A family is mourning the loss of a "happy" young boy who died when he accidentally shot and killed himself.

Little Michael Bragg Jr. was found unresponsive in a car with a gunshot wound between his eyes in Kissimmee, Florida, court records said.

Michael was pronounced dead in hospital a short time after he was discovered. An off-duty Kissimmee Police Officer at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital saw a silver Chevrolet Camaro arrive outside the facility on Thursday just before 10am

Michael, or 'Junior' to his friends and family, was in the car with his father and an unidentified witness.

The witness told police they were asleep when they were woken up by a gunshot and found the four-year-old injured near a wheelchair.

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Tributes to Junior said his 'smile would light up the whole room' (WFTV)

His heartbroken mum Ebony Davis said at a candlelight and balloon vigil to WFTV that she was "used to waking up to him every morning him telling me ‘Mommy, I love you so much.’”

Local media reports said that Davis needed her family and friend to physically support her due to the grief she was suffering while at the moving vigil attended by dozens of people.

She added: "I would rather my son to bury me before I got to bury him. He’s only four years old. He didn’t even get to live his life."

Davis had to be physically supported at a vigil for her son (WFTV)

Davis said she had dropped her son off with her dad the day before and was expecting to pick him up the following day. She had no idea anything was wrong until a detective called her and asked her to come to the local police station.

She added that she did not know there were guns in the house while her sister Cornecia Pinkins said Junior's dad was irresponsible.

Officers said his father, Michael Bragg Sr., 32, changed history a number of times when he was interviewed by police, but eventually confessed to owning a gun for protective purposes.

Originally, Bragg Sr. is reported to have said there were no guns in the house, before changing his story to say his friend kept guns there before finally confessing.

A .22 Glock and a 9 mm handgun were recovered from a suitcase close to the front down and the Glock appeared to have marks of blood on it.

Police arrested the dad for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after police found two guns in his home.

According to an affidavit, officers found a large amount of blood and an “intact, firearm round” in the living room.

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So far, $695 (£579) has been raised towards a goal of $10,000 (£8,341) in a GoFundMe set up for Ebony.

The fund's description says that Junior's "presence and his smile would light up the whole room."

Horrifyingly, this is the second accidental shooting in which a young child was killed in only the last month.

A 3-year-old boy who was the son of a Florida corrections officer shot himself after finding a gun in his dad's nightstand.

The case is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.

Benjamin Lynch