Police: Parents Didn't Get Help For Shot Child

7:39 AM, Jun 15, 2012   |    comments
  • Thomas Sumlin and Tyshonna Mercedez Blades were charged with second-degree child cruelty.
    
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LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say the father of a 4-year-old child who accidentally shot herself didn't think the injuries were severe enough to seek medical help.
 
Gwinnett County police say the father, 20-year-old Thomas Sumlin, also convinced the girl's mother, 21-year-old Tyshonna Mercedez Blades, not to seek help after the June 4 shooting.

But a family friend called police, who arrested both parents and a grandmother who allegedly also hid the incident from police.
 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that both were charged with second-degree child cruelty. Gwinnett County Jail records do not indicate whether the suspects have attorneys.
 
Police reports state that the child, her two siblings and her parents were renting a room in a Days Inn hotel near Stone Mountain when the girl appears to have found a handgun and shot herself. Police say the bullet apparently grazed the girl's abdomen.