DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County man has been charged with killing his 4-year-old niece. But the family of the little girl, including her mother, says he did not do it.
The shooting happened Monday night at the Summit Hill Apartments on Bouldercrest Road in DeKalb County.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke to the young child’s family Tuesday, who said they are absolutely devastated.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
They said not only are they grieving girl’s death, but another relative is behind bars facing second-degree murder.
They say they told police the child accidentally shot herself, but for some reason, police made the arrest anyway.
“My baby loved her uncle to death,” the child’s mother told Fernandes, asking not to be identified.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Overturned tractor-trailer shuts down all lanes of I-285 NB in Fulton County
- Spring break 2022: 161 arrested, 75 guns seized in Panama City Beach crackdown
- Police investigating body found in middle of busy Cobb County intersection
The family identified the 4-year-old victim as Janiya Jenkins.
“He keeps on asking for her and I don’t know what to say,” the mother said the girl’s twin brother is asking.
DeKalb County police arrested Levante Cummings, 27, Monday night in connection to the shooting.
He is the woman’s brother.
Police say he shot and killed his niece Janiya. His charges range from cruelty to a child to second-degree murder.
But the suspect’s sister, who is also Janiya’s mother, said the only thing her brother is guilty of is falling asleep and leaving his gun out.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“My baby shot herself. My brother did not shoot her,” the mother said.
“Why do you think police charged him when he didn’t do it?” Fernandes asked the mother.
“I don’t know, because when they talked to me, I told them my brother was asleep,” the mother said.
Fernandes said she contacted police to report what the family told her and asked them if they had ruled out the possibility that the little girl accidentally shot herself.
She is still waiting on a response from the department.
IN OTHER NEWS:
This browser does not support the video element.