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Background: News footage of the apartment complex in Columbus, Ohio where Cartier Smith fatally shot himself on Sept. 22 (WBNS). Insets (left to right): Carley Dials and Sean Perrin (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office).
An Ohio woman was charged with involuntary manslaughter after her 3-year-old son fatally shot himself with an unsecured gun while she slept.
Carley Dials, 29, posted bond on Tuesday after she was arrested the day before, when her son, 3-year-old Cartier Smith, got hold of a gun that was allegedly brought to her home by 31-year-old Sean Perrin. According to a report released by the Columbus Division of Police, officers responded to a 911 call placed by Dials on Monday morning. They arrived to find Cartier with a gunshot wound, and the little boy was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WBNS, Perrin left the apartment before police arrived. Officials said that as they investigated, police found that Perrin had allegedly brought the gun to Dials’ apartment.
In her interview with police, Dials said that she found the gun before she went to bed at around 3 a.m. on Monday. She told police that she hid the gun between her bed’s mattress and the wall before going to sleep.
Hours later, just before 9 a.m., Cartier went into the room where his mother and Perrin were sleeping and found the gun. He got up onto their bed then unintentionally shot himself. Dials called 911 as Perrin apparently fled. Cartier was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in critical condition and died less than an hour after he shot himself.
WBNS reported that an older child was taken into the custody of Franklin County Children’s Services.
Perrin, who had been arrested in March for violating his parole in connection with a 2019 conviction on gun charges, was eventually apprehended by police. He was charged with having a weapon under disability and violating parole. He remains in custody at James A. Karnes Correction Center on $750,000 bond.
Dials was charged with involuntary manslaughter and booked into the Franklin County Jail. Her bond was set at $50,000, which she posted on Tuesday following her court appearance.
Both Dials and Perrin are due in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 2.
