Mom arrested after 3 year old shoots self with her gun

Amaya Sands was arrested after her three-year-old son shot himself with her gun. According to police, Sands, 22, left her son unattended on April 1 at her apartment on the 300 block of Westwood Parkway in Austell. The 3-year-old picked up a gun and shot himself in the head with the loaded weapon that his mother left near him. 

The boy is in a local children’s hospital as of Thursday night in critical condition, according to Sgt. Wayne Delk, a spokesman for the Cobb County Police Department. 

According to her arrest warrant, Sands allegedly hid the gun and shell casing after the incident to prevent or delay her prosecution. She faces four charges, including a felony for cruelty to a child and another felony for tampering with evidence. Sands remains in the Cobb jail with a $20,000 bond as of Friday.

With the ongoing rise of children gaining access to firearms and shooting themselves or others, Cobb County police are encouraging parents to secure their guns inside their homes, using a method that is best suited for their situation. Parents who are also gun owners can find ways to do that by going to Project ChildSafe at https://projectchildsafe.org/