A 2-year-old shot himself with a stolen gun while with his 18-year-old brother, Zyaire Cornelius. As a result, the teen has officially been hit with charges for essentially allowing the incident to occur.
ARRESTED: Zyaire A. Cornelius arrested in July 12 incident in 3900 blk of Dublin where 2-year-old male sustained gunshot wound. #NOPDResultshttps://t.co/subs1OBL4Z pic.twitter.com/mccVzrKQn9
— New Orleans Police Department (@NOPDNews) July 13, 2022
Cornelius and his young brother, who hasn’t been publicly identified because of his age, were at a Costco gas station in New Orleans’ 7th Ward when the ordeal went down last week.
The child, who was initially erroneously reported as being a 1-year-old, is believed to have gotten ahold of a loaded gun that was in the backseat of the vehicle. He wound up accidentally shooting himself, suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg.
The injured child was rushed to a nearby hospital, and NOLA authorities proceeded to search the vehicle in question once they rolled up. The officers found two guns — “one of which was reported stolen,” per a press release from the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD).
“Upon questioning and further investigation, detectives determined Cornelius to be the perpetrator in this incident and obtained an arrest warrant on one count each of possession of a stolen firearm and for second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. Cornelius was subsequently arrested and booked accordingly into the Orleans Parish Justice Center,” the statement continued.
On top of this, the victim’s mother — who hasn’t been publicly named — was “issued a municipal summons for violation of City of New Orleans Criminal Code Ordinance 54:338 (Responsibilities of Owners of Firearms with Respect to Minors),” according to another NOPD press release.
The child is in stable condition, though he initially suffered “a large amount of blood loss,” per WVUE. Authorities note that he’s expected to recover from his injury.
There’s currently no word on how Cornelius will plead to the charges against him. According to PEOPLE, he could face up to 40 years behind bars if convicted.
“The gross negligence of Mr. Cornelius leaving the firearm in the rear seat with the 2-year-old victim resulted in the 2-year-old victim shooting himself in the leg,” NOPD investigator Jesse Roger said, according to court documents obtained by WVUE.
