10-year-old charged with murder after baby girl shot in head

A 10-year-old boy in Missouri has been charged with first-degree murder after police said he allegedly shot a 7-month-old baby in the head.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, officers responded to a home near the city's Baden neighborhood on June 26 around 4 p.m. CT and found an infant girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.

The home is about seven miles northwest of downtown St. Louis.

Officers immediately rushed the baby to a hospital, but despite life-saving care from medical personnel and officers, the baby died, police said in a news release.

Police identified the baby as Kiyomi Parker.

According to a preliminary investigation by detectives, police said that the 10-year-old boy had shot the baby. He was taken into custody at the scene, police said.

On Tuesday, June 30, police Sgt. Sean Mazzola told USA TODAY that the boy had been charged with first-degree murder and was set to face the felony charge in juvenile court. USA does not typically name juveniles accused of crimes.

"It breaks your heart when you see something like that," St. Louis Police Chief Robert J. Tracy said during a press conference after the shooting. "That firearm that was accessible, the individual should not have had."

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According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by USA TODAY, a 7-year-old child was also home at the time of the shooting.

A motive in the shooting was not immediately known.

The victim's father, Ca’Marion Pawnell, 19, of East St. Louis, was also arrested after police said the boy allegedly used Pawnell's gun to shoot the baby girl, who was his daughter.

According to the affidavit, Pawnell "knowingly stored a firearm underneath a mattress in a bedroom in the home."

Court papers go on to say the 10-year-old boy told police he knew where the firearm was and that "it was accessible to him for an extended period of time." The child also allegedly told officers he had taken the firearm out and touched it previously.

Court records show Pawnell faces charges including second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.

It was not immediately known how Pawnell and the 10-year-old boy knew each other or whether Pawnell had obtained legal representation in the case.

Online records show Pawnell is slated to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on July 28.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact St. Louis police at 314-231-1212.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.