The 3-year-old son of a female Florida cop with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department shot himself with his mom’s gun at their family home in Homestead, Florida over the weekend. The boy survived, but his mom is facing a child neglect charge.
The toddler got hold of the gun and mistakenly opened fire on himself while his mother, Officer Stephanie Alondra Jerez, was busy preparing food, according to Local 10 reported. The boy was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he reportedly remains in stable condition. The child’s parent, Jerez, was arrested by the Homestead Police Department (HPD) as a result of the incident and was subsequently charged with a singular charge of child neglect with great bodily harm.
THIS JUST IN: New details were released Monday, a day after a 3-year-old boy shot himself at a home in Homestead. https://t.co/TW7jE9vUYE
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) April 29, 2024
#DEVELOPING: Rescue crews airlifted a 3-year-old to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital after a shooting in The Riviera by Lennar community in Homestead. A dispatcher was heard over the radio saying the toddler was shot in the foot. https://t.co/QBdyr3TpQR
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) April 28, 2024
The gun was not a police-issued weapon, but it was one Jerez owned. It is unclear what type of gun is in question.
Jerez appeared in a Florida bond court Monday. (RELATED: REPORT: Police Catch Two People With Rifles Near Day Care Center, Suspects Claim It Was All A Misunderstanding)
A judge ruled the mom could still be around her son unless the Florida Department of Children and Families issues additional restrictions.
On the other hand, the judge barred Jerez from bringing firearms into her home and prohibited her from carrying a weapon outside of her obligations in uniform.
Jerez’s employer acknowledged the situation in an official statement:
“Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is aware of a non-school related incident involving a Miami-Dade Schools Police officer that occurred over the weekend,” the district reportedly said in a statement, per Local 10. (RELATED: REPORT: Gun Found In Backpack Of 8-Year-Old Student Who Allegedly Threatened Fellow Student At Brooklyn School)
In turn, Jerez was relieved from her duties as a badged officer pending the outcome of the ongoing HPD probe, the statement concluded, the outlet reported.