3-Year-Old Shoots Himself with Gun Babysitter Allegedly Left Out While Using Bathroom

In September 2024, a Hennepin County judge sentenced Staples to four years in prison for second-degree manslaughter. He was also ordered to pay restitution to JaJuan’s family. The case has since become a reference point in Minnesota’s ongoing debate over firearm storage laws and the adults who fail to keep guns away from children.

What Happened Inside the Apartment

According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County, Staples had been watching JaJuan while the boy’s mother was away. Staples told investigators he normally stored his handgun on top of the refrigerator, out of a child’s reach. But that evening, he said he felt “rushed” to use the bathroom and placed the loaded firearm on a lower surface instead.

While Staples was out of the room, JaJuan found the gun. A summary of court filings described how Staples heard the shot and ran from the bathroom to find the boy on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders transported JaJuan to the hospital, but he did not survive.

Staples admitted to police that the gun was his and that he had left it accessible. He was not the child’s parent, but he had babysat JaJuan multiple times before, and the family had trusted him with the boy’s care.

A Mother’s Account

JaJuan’s mother has spoken publicly about the night she lost her son. In statements shared with reporters and referenced in a People magazine report, she said JaJuan’s last word was “Mommy,” spoken as he fought for his life after the shooting.

For her, the legal proceedings that followed existed on a separate plane from the grief. She had left her child with someone she knew, in a home where JaJuan had been before. The criminal complaint made clear that one lapse in routine, a gun placed within reach for the few minutes it took to use a bathroom, was all it took.

The Prosecution and Sentencing

Hennepin County prosecutors charged Staples with second-degree manslaughter, arguing that leaving a loaded handgun accessible to a toddler constituted gross negligence under Minnesota law. The case moved through the court system over the following months.

In September 2024, a judge handed down a four-year prison sentence, according to CBS News Minnesota’s coverage of the sentencing. Staples was also ordered to pay restitution to JaJuan’s family. At the hearing, the boy’s relatives addressed the court, describing JaJuan as an energetic, affectionate child who loved calling out for his mother.

For the family, the sentence represented partial accountability at best. No prison term restores what was lost.

A Recurring Pattern Across the Country

JaJuan’s death fits a well-documented pattern. According to Everytown for Gun Safety’s research database, hundreds of children in the United States are killed or injured each year in unintentional shootings, the vast majority involving firearms that were not securely stored. The organization tracks these incidents and has found that in most cases, the shooter is a child who found an adult’s gun.

Minnesota does not have a specific child access prevention (CAP) law that imposes criminal liability on gun owners who fail to secure firearms around minors. As of March 2026, legislative efforts to pass such a statute have stalled in the state legislature multiple times. Advocates for safe storage laws point to cases like JaJuan’s as evidence that existing manslaughter charges, applied after a child is already dead, are an insufficient deterrent.

What Safe Storage Could Have Changed

The facts of this case are not complicated. Staples owned a handgun. He knew a three-year-old was in the apartment. He had a spot on top of the refrigerator where he usually kept the weapon out of reach. On January 24, 2024, he skipped that step.

Gun safety organizations, including the Be SMART campaign run by Everytown and the American Academy of Pediatrics, emphasize that secure storage, whether through a locked safe, a trigger lock, or simply keeping ammunition separate, is the single most effective way to prevent children from accessing firearms in the home. The campaign urges any adult who is around children to ask whether guns in the home are stored locked and unloaded.

A trigger lock costs less than $15. A small gun safe runs under $100. JaJuan Davis Jr. was buried before his fourth birthday.