Two weeks after a 5-year-old girl was shot in Southeast D.C., she’s still in critical condition. D.C. police say her younger brother found a loaded gun inside an apartment and shot her.
On the night of the shooting, police charged 21-year-old D’Jaunae McCrory Jackson with cruelty to children, assault on a police officer and possessing the gun used in the shooting. But the story changed after police arrested Kenneth Stokes.
McCrory Jackson is no longer facing a gun charge and was released from jail.
Instead, detectives now say the gun belonged to Stokes, who was identified as McCrory Jackson's boyfriend.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
A witness got Stokes on the phone as a detective listened to the call and Stokes said “that he was sorry and was going to turn himself in.” The detective then heard Stokes say “it was his gun,” according to a court document filed in the case.
On the night of the shooting, police say they found a gun on a TV stand inside the apartment on Galveston Street and described it as a ghost gun with an extended magazine.
Police say that gun was linked to the shooting of a dog back in August just down the street. The dog — identified as Chaos — survived the shooting and Stokes is now facing an animal cruelty charge as well.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
On the night of the shooting, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith was asked about the relationship between McCrory Jackson and the 5-year-old victim.
“So what we believe at this time is that the female that was arrested for assault on a police officer is a sister to the female victim,” Smith said.
Police also arrested a man inside the apartment and charged him with cruelty to children.
“What we know about the male individual is that he is a friend of the family who the family has known for quite some time,” she said. “From my understanding, the child's mother left the children in the care of the adult male while she went to run some errands.”
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
Charges against that man have been dropped.
Stokes remains in a D.C. jail and is due back in court sometime next month.
