By Dominic Taylor-
A 10-year-old girl could be charged with murder after fatally shooting a woman who was arguing with her mother.
The killing further highlights the problem with America’s gun laws which allows just anybody to own a gun.
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The girl’s mother, Lakrisha Isaac, 31, had been engaged in a fight over a past dispute with Denise Rodgers, 41,(pictured) at the Jernigan Gardens Apartments on Mercy Drive on 30 May.
Isaac recklessly handed her daughter a bag which had a gun inside. The young girl whose identity has been withheld for legal reasons subsequently fired two shots at Rodgers, who was later taken to a hospital where she died. The young girl was arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with second degree murder. Isaac is also in custody.
The Orlando Police Department took the child into custody on suspicion of second-degree murder and took her to a juvenile facility. Potential charges have been referred to the office of State Attorney Monique Worrell, police said.
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“This is one of the most tragic cases I have seen in my 22-year career,” Worrell said in a statement.
Rogers was taken to a hospital where she died. Isaac was arrested shortly after the incident and faces multiple charges, including manslaughter, aggravated assault with a firearm, and child neglect.
Worrell said her office will review the case and consider “all the facts,” including the child’s age and all surrounding circumstances. She noted that no decision on charges has been made.
“However, we anticipate that whatever charges we eventually file, if any, will ensure she receives the interventions necessary to address her behaviour, help her change and grow, and ensure the public’s safety going forward,” she said. “We encourage the public to remember—no matter your feelings surrounding this tragedy—this is still a child.”
According to Rodgers’ boyfriend, the girl, who was still holding the gun, said: “She shouldn’t have hit my momma,” the police filing stated.
“It couldn’t have been self defence,” a member from the Rodgers family then said. “Your child should have been in the house at this time of night or even why you dealing with anything.”
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office say that ‘no charging decision has been made’ and State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said: “Our office has started the process of reviewing this case and will consider all of the facts, including the age of the child, and all of the surrounding circumstances, when making a charging decision.
“We anticipate that whatever charges we eventually file, if any, will ensure she receives the interventions necessary to address her behaviour, help her change and grow, and ensure the public’s safety going forward”
Worrell was discussing what age should constitute jail time in the US, saying: “I believe that the minimum age of arrest should be 14 and I believe very much and very strongly that there is a school to prison pipeline.
Worrell added: “Arrest, prison, jail, those are traumatic experiences that significantly scar our children for the future..
Naomi Smoot Evans, executive director of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice said: “We see across the board for young folks, regardless of what they may be charged with, that what works is community-based intervention, what works is connecting young folks with people in their own communities, letting communities lead reform efforts.”
The young child will at least be learning a lesson that shooting to kill is not the answer to solving a dispute.
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