Tennessee woman 'left' grandson, 8, home to 'hang out with friends' before he fatally shot himself with unsecured shotgun

A Tennessee grandmother was arrested after authorities discovered she was aware of the shotgun that her grandson used to accidentally fatally shoot himself with while under her care.

Gracie Patton Mimms, 48, was charged with criminal homicide and aggravated child neglect in connection to the September death of her 8-year-old grandson, Phillip’e Woodard, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a press release .

Police say Mimms was taking care of the boy and two other minors when she left them without any adult supervision in order to “go spend time with friends." The child was left inside a room where a loaded shotgun was "out and easily accessible" and Phillip’e was handling the shotgun when it went off, fatally wounding him, according to police.

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Mimms told investigators that she knew the gun was in the bedroom she left Phillip’e in but she thought it was unloaded, according to an arrest affidavit. After the shooting, officers found four live rounds in the magazine, according to court documents.

Investigators determined Mimms’ lack of supervision was the reason for her grandson’s death. In the U.S. guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to a 2023 study most children in the U.S. who die from an accidental shooting are playing around with guns at home or mistaking them for toys, CNN reported . The study, published in the scientific journal Injury Epidemiology, said that over 90 percent of guns used in accidental shooting deaths were left unlocked and loaded, and in 8 out of 10 cases, the gun belonged to an older relative.

“It’s worth trying to figure out, ‘how do we encourage parents to embrace safe storage?’ ” said Dr. Nichole Michaels, senior author of the study and principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Because that’s the way that we prevent these fatalities. These are preventable deaths: We can keep guns out of the hands of toddlers and older children.”