Father Accused of Reckless Homicide After 3-Year-Old Boy Shoots Himself — One Year After Daughter, 4, Died in Targeted Attack
Dandre Pruitt allegedly put his gun down on his bedroom floor, not knowing his son was in the room with him, police said.
July 30 2024, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
A 3-year-old Tennessee boy fatally shot himself in the head with his father’s pistol and now the father has surrendered to police, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Around 9 p.m. on July 24, officers were called to an apartment in Nashville regarding a child shot, Front Page Detectives reported.
Police arrived at the residence after receiving a call regarding a child shot.
The victim, Aydeen Pruitt, was rushed to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Officers spoke with the boy’s mother, who said she heard a “loud pop” from her bedroom, and shortly after, 23-year-old Dandre Pruitt ran out and drove away in a Kia Soul.
Nicole Hammond was fatally shot in the parking lot of her work in October 2022.
Police launched a search for Pruitt to question him about the shooting that led to his toddler son’s death.
Pruitt reportedly worked with a pastor and turned himself in at a church on July 25.
Police said they were able to use sidewalk spit to help crack a 1988 cold case murder.
In an interview with detectives, Pruitt allegedly said he took out a pistol from his pocket and put it on his bedroom floor.
He claimed he “didn’t realize Aydeen was present in the bedroom when the child picked up the gun and shot himself in the head," police said
Authorities say four jail security guards have been arrested as suspects in the alleged contraband smuggling scheme.
Pruitt was arrested and charged with reckless homicide, child neglect, and evidence tampering, authorities said.
This is not the first death of a child for the family. On May 30, 2023, Pruitt’s daughter, Taliyah Frazier, was in the backseat of a Chevrolet Malibu when a car pulled up at a red light and someone in the vehicle started shooting, WKRN-TV reported.
Officials said it was a “non-random, targeted shooting.”
Frazier, 4, was shot in the head and died the next day. There were also 2-year-old twin boys in the car. One boy sustained a non-critical wound to the head, while the other child was uninjured. Four people were arrested in connection with her death.
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