Father, grandfather charged after 4-year-old fatally shoots himself
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A father and grandfather have now been charged after a four-year-old boy accidentally shot himself and died in Germantown nearly two years ago.
Mother mourns 4-year-old fatally shot in Germantown
Jerry Anderson III, or as many knew him as Tre, died less than a week before his fifth birthday.
Both Jerry Anderson Jr. and Jerry Anderson Sr. are charged with Aggravated Child Abuse, Criminally Negligent Homicide and Theft of a Firearm, according to an indictment handed down May 14.
Police say Tre was being watched by his father at his paternal grandparents’ home when he found a gun and pulled the trigger on June 22, 2022.
According to the autopsy Tre’s maternal grandmother showed us, the cause of death is ruled as suspected homicide.
WREG requested the autopsy report in July 2022, but the medical examiner’s office has yet to provide a copy.
At the time of the shooting, police say Anderson Jr., the child’s father, was out of jail on bond for for a list of charges, including two counts of Criminal Attempt First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault – Acting in Concert.
In July 2020, police say Anderson Jr. and three others shot multiple rounds at a home on McLemore. Police counted 130 spent shell casings. Three were injured including a toddler.
Father of child killed in Germantown charged in 2020 triple shooting
We talked with Tre’s mother back when this all happened. She says she was on her way to pick Tre up when she got the call saying he was shot.
She wanted to know why a gun was left in a place where a child could get it and why no one was watching Tre.
“I was banging on the doors. I got in there and I saw my baby lifeless, shot. I just fell. I couldn’t do anything for him,” Tre’s mother said.
WREG Investigators asked the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office why it took so long to take the case to a Grand Jury.
A spokesperson said the initial prosecutor handling the case changed, which may have played a role in the delay, and it also takes time for law enforcement and the Department of Children’s Services to gather evidence.
The next court date for both Anderson Jr. and Sr. is scheduled for July 8. The county’s jail log shows both released with $80,000 bond.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
