Father Arrested After 3-Year-Old Son Dies in Accidental Shooting, One Year After Daughter's Targeted Death, Cops Say

A 3-year-old Tennessee boy fatally shot himself in the head with his father’s pistol, and now police say the father has surrendered to police.

Around 9 p.m. on July 24, officers were called to an apartment in Nashville regarding a child shot, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.

The victim, Aydeen Pruitt, was rushed to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Officers spoke with the boy’s mother, who said she heard a “loud pop” from her bedroom, and shortly after, 23-year-old Dandre Pruitt ran out and drove away in a Kia Soul.

Police launched a search for Pruitt to question him about the shooting that led to his toddler son’s death.

Pruitt reportedly worked with a pastor and turned himself in at a church on July 25.

In an interview with detectives, Pruitt allegedly said he took out a pistol from his pocket and put it on his bedroom floor.

He claimed he “didn’t realize Aydeen was present in the bedroom when the child picked up the gun and shot himself in the head," police said.

Pruitt was arrested and charged with reckless homicide, child neglect, and evidence tampering, authorities said.

This is not the first death of a child for the family. On May 30, 2023, Pruitt’s daughter, Taliyah Frazier, was in the backseat of a Chevrolet Malibu when a car pulled up at a red light and someone in the vehicle started shooting, WKRN-TV reported.

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Officials said it was a “non-random, targeted shooting.”

Frazier, 4, was shot in the head and died the next day. There were also 2-year-old twin boys in the car. One boy sustained a non-critical wound to the head, while the other child was uninjured. Four people were arrested in connection with her death.