Marion Co. prosecutor charges parents in 2 separate, unintentional shootings involving toddlers

INDIANAPOLIS – Two different families are grieving the deaths of toddlers — deaths the Marion County prosecutor calls preventable and neglectful. Parents in both cases are now facing formal charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level One felony.

Officials with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in a CVS parking lot near the intersection of 46th Street and Keystone Avenue after grabbing a gun from his mother’s purse in June. That mother, Keiara Bickett, and her 8-year-old daughter told officers they heard a gunshot from the front seats and saw the toddler fall to the floor, according to court documents.

Documents say Bickett said she knew he was out of his car seat and that she had a gun in her open purse, which her daughter recalled finding in the past while looking for lip balm.

“I’m a parent and I think we can all relate to – you’re in a rush, you’re in a hurry, you’re running around trying to get things done, and sometimes you forget about things,” said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. “But the thing you cannot forget about is that gun.”

Mears explained that he has noticed a rise in similar cases coming across his desk in recent years.

“Certainly, since permitless carry, we’ve seen a number of people have guns,” Mears said. “As you’ll see from both of the charges today, the only charge is for neglect. There are no charges for possession of the firearms because both of these parents legally possessed those firearms.”

In July, documents say Leon’ta Anderson admitted he left two guns unsecured on a shoe rack in his house, knowing his 2-year-old daughter liked to climb on things.

“I cannot believe this young child’s life is gone just from one mistake,” IMPD Officer Tommy Thompson said on the day of the shooting.

Investigators found at least two handguns, a rifle, boxes of ammunition and several loaded magazines in the house on Ralston Avenue after Anderson’s daughter got her hands on one and died.

“You see the soot, the gunshot residue from the firearm on the child. Those are the types of things you have to look at and that has a profound impact on you when you’re having conversations about these cases because you just know that child never had a chance,” Mears added.

Mears would like to see gun permit or license requirements return. But with or without them, he said it’s time to get “more aggressive” about proper safety education and training for gun owners.

“We need to obligate people to learn how to maintain these firearms, because when they don’t, kids are the ones who end up paying the price,” Mears said. “At the same time, we also recognize the human side to this, that these parents are dealing with unimaginable grief and the biggest and harshest punishment they’re ever going to receive is the loss of their child.”

IMPD still offers free gun locks at Indianapolis Public Library locations in an effort to prevent more tragedies like these.