HAMLET PD: Pair charged after 2-year-old shoots self with gun

HAMLET — A woman and her boyfriend are facing felony charges after a toddler accidentally shot himself Friday afternoon.

Police in Hamlet said they received a call around 12:15 p.m. as the two were on the way to the hospital with an injured child.

Dispatchers with the Richmond County 911 Center told them to go to the Hamlet Police Department since it was nearby, according to investigators.

Upon arrival at the department, the child was taken to the hospital by Hamlet Rescue and later airlifted to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, police say.

While questioning the mother, 21-year-old Becolia Diamonique Smith, and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Jordan Marquis Jenkins, investigators say they determined the 2-year-old got hold of an unsecured .380-caliber handgun and shot himself in the leg.

Police said a search of the home resulted in the finding of a second .380-caliber handgun.

Both Smith and Jenkins were arrested and each charged with felony child abuse with serious injury. Jenkins was additionally charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Smith is being held in the Richmond County Jail on a $10,000 secured bond; Jenkins is being held on a $50,000 secured bond. Both are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 12.

Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Jenkins was convicted in 2023 of conspiracy to commit larceny of a motor vehicle. It appears that conviction was in Kansas. Records show he was given probation with a supervision term of one year and 12 days.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.