MOBILE, Ala. — A mother and her friend face charges after police say a toddler accidentally shot and killed himself in Mobile, Alabama Thursday morning.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Corey Davis Sr., the father of 2-year-old Corey Davis Jr., told WKRG.
Mobile Police said Davis Jr. accidentally shot himself after he found a loaded pistol in a motel room at the Red Roof Inn on I-65 near Dauphin Street.
“He really didn’t get to have fun with his life, but God calls you up for a reason,” said Curtis Davis, the boy’s uncle. Davis said he’s still in disbelief after receiving a frantic call from his brother on Thursday.
“I couldn’t understand what he was really saying so he told me to come,” Davis said.
When he got there, his family gave him the tragic news.
“I felt like he was one of my sons because he belonged to my brother. We were just all sad and motionless,” Davis said. “I really don’t know how it feels to lose a son because I don’t have any children, but I know his pain.”
Davis said he hopes his nephew’s demise will send a powerful message.
“Just be safer. Put those guns down. Don’t have them around the children, put them in a safe spot. I hate it had to happen, but God brings you up for a reason,” Davis said.
WKRG reached out to the mother’s family to give them an opportunity to speak about Davis Jr.’s death. They respectfully told her they did not want to be bothered.
The child’s mother, 29-year-old Dynesha Harris, and her friend Tony Fowler are both charged with manslaughter. Police said their “extreme recklessness” caused the death of the toddler. Harris is out of jail on a $7,500. Fowler is still in jail without bond. Charges could be upgraded pending autopsy results.