Twin 4-year-old boys were shot and critically injured Saturday inside their Orange County home, prompting the arrest of their parents, according to sheriff’s officials.
The shooting occurred at a home in the 8300 block of Calais Circle, northeast of Lake Underhill Drive and Chickasaw Trail, east of Orlando. It was reported around 2 p.m.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to AdventHealth East after receiving reports of two boys with gunshot wounds.
Deputies reported that the boys were transported to the hospital by their parents, both of whom were arrested.
The mother, Keishara B. Goodrum, 39, was charged with two counts of child neglect causing serious bodily damage. Maurice Wayne Bright Jr., 40, was arrested on a charge of felony possession of a handgun.
According to an arrest affidavit, both parents claimed they did not see the shooting but did hear a loud “pop” inside the house. The affidavit didn’t say who fired the revolver.
According to the affidavit, Goodrum observed a wound when one of the boys lifted his arm. According to investigators, Bright went into the home and discovered his son with a wound.
The parents took the boys to the hospital after noticing a “large amount of blood on (the other twin’s) shirt” and concluding that he was also hurt, according to the affidavit.
According to sheriff’s officials, Goodrum drank “large amounts of alcohol” on Friday night and left her revolver on the sofa.
She went grocery shopping Saturday morning, returned home, and began preparing breakfast for her five children while her husband, Bright, was on the back patio preparing a meal on the grill when they heard the “pop,” according to investigators.
Goodrum later told detectives that the boys had access to the revolver because she had left it on the couch, according to the affidavit.
She claimed Bright, a convicted felon, was aware she had three weapons in the house and had held them on previous occasions, according to authorities.
The parents were subsequently detained, according to officials.
When News 6 examined Goodrum’s criminal docket late Monday, we discovered a new charge: two counts of storing or leaving a loaded firearm within reach or easy access of a juvenile, which is a third-degree felony.
Both youngsters were eventually taken to Arnold Palmer youngsters’s Hospital, where they were in critical but stable condition as of Monday, officials said.
Neighbors told News 6 they were shocked to learn what happened.
“It’s horrible that a mother or father would leave a gun laying around with any age of any children,” she stated. “It’s terrible.”
Santos claimed she learned about the incident via her family, who work in law enforcement.
“We own a gun,” Santos stated. “But you stored it in a safe. You keep it safe. “You keep it away from the children.”
Leave a Comment