YORKTOWN, Va. — Deputies with the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office said the mother of a 3-year-old boy who was shot on Wednesday has been arrested, and the child's father turned himself in.
22-year-old Ayannah Mercedes Chapman is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and two felony counts of child abuse.
The child's father, 22-year-old Canaan Lamont Fleming, turned himself in to YPSO Thursday night and was taken to Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
He was wanted on charges of shooting into an occupied dwelling, maiming, two counts of child abuse, and reckless handling of a firearm.
Mary Immaculate Hospital contacted the sheriff's office around 3 a.m. Wednesday to tell deputies that a family member had brought in the young victim. The boy had a wound that wasn't life-threatening and he has since been released from the hospital and is in the care of a family member.
Deputies said the apartment where the shooting took place is in the 7400 block of George Washington Memorial Highway in the Grafton area of the county. Investigators said inside the apartment they found about 35 pounds of marijuana, over $15,000 in cash, and multiple guns, magazines, and rounds of ammunition.
Someone, who did not want to be identified, said he and his coworkers saw several police cars in front of a Public Storage unit for most of the morning Wednesday.
“It’s very heartbreaking and I just pray that the child will be alright,” said another man, Jesse Bell, who lives in the area. “I’m praying that this gun violence stops very soon. Something needs to be done about this.”
"I think education is very important for a lot of things, especially for something as lethal as a gun," said Apostolos Demetry. “A gun does not just fire itself. The trigger has to be pulled."
If you have any information that may help detectives, you're asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or you can also call the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office Tip Line at 757-890-4999. Refer to case #2201166.