J’Den Watson Bio – J’Den Watson Wiki
J’Den Watson in Muncie, Ind., fatally shot himself in front of his 2-year-old sister after allegedly finding his mother’s boyfriend’s gun in their dollhouse.
AGE:
J’Den Watson was 4 years old.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
Fox 59 reported that Joseph Jackson, the 19-year boyfriend of the boy’s mother, told authorities that he “always” kept his 9mm Glock 19 on a dollhouse on the second floor without the holster. Jackson was on the first floor when he heard a “pop” and his girlfriend’s screams, according to court documents, and found the boy bleeding from his face.
The boy — J’Den Watson — died at an area hospital on Monday.
Jackson’s girlfriend, a 22-year-old Alicia Smith, was the mother of J’Den and a 2-year-old daughter. Jackson said he helped Smith care for her children daily and had been living with Smith for a month, court documents revealed, Fox 59 reports.
According to the outlet, Jackson told authorities J’Den liked to climb on objects in the house, like the dollhouse, and reportedly saw the gun through its windows, which was within reaching distance.
Smith told investigators that she was in the same room as her children when she heard the gunshot. When she turned around, she reportedly saw J’Den fire the gun and fall in front of her and her daughter.
She also said that she knew Jackson owned a gun and left it on the dollhouse “at least 10 times” before. Though they argued about where Jackson kept the firearm, Smith told police he had “previously left the gun in areas where her children could access it,” Fox 59 reports.
The court documents reveal that police wrote that neither Jackson nor Smith had taken “any precautionary measures to secure the firearm from the children,” per Fox 59.
They were both charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent. It is unclear if they’ve entered a plea to the charges or retained an attorney who can speak on their behalf.
J’Den’s father, Jammie Watson, who had not been present in his child’s life due to his struggles with addiction, said he was there more towards the end, having just celebrated J’Den’s birthday on Nov. 1, WTHR reports.
“He was caring, fun, gentle, liked to play, loved being around other kids,” Watson said.
Other family members have also spoken about J’Den’s untimely death, including his grandmother, Marcella Taylor.
“We’re so mad that they couldn’t take the time to walk down the stairs to put it in a gun safe. Instead, they left it in a dollhouse and I don’t understand that,” she said, according to the outlet. “I’m mad, I’m so mad, but at the same time, my heart goes out to [Smith] because I know how good of a mother she was.”
On planning J’Den’s funeral on Friday, Watson said, “I don’t know how to cope with it. I don’t even think I’ve fully accepted it.”
However, he said he will always remember how his son taught him “to never stop trying, to never give up and that your kids will always love you,” WTHR reports.
For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visit BeSMARTforkids.org.