YORKTOWN, Va. (WAVY) — The mother of a 3-year-old boy shot in Yorktown has been charged with two felony counts of child abuse, after authorities charged the child’s father in connection to the shooting on Wednesday.
Investigators say they found guns and ammunition, about 35 pounds of marijuana and more than $15,000 in cash inside their apartment.
Ayannah Mercedes Chapman, 22, is also charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. She was taken to Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and denied bond.
The child is recovering and was released from the hospital on Wednesday with a family member, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office said in an update.
The child’s biological father, 22-year-old Canaan Lamont Fleming, turned himself in to authorities on Thursday night. He’s charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling, maiming, two counts of child abuse and reckless handling of a firearm.
The sheriff’s office believes the shooting on Wednesday at the apartment in the 7000 block of George Washington Memorial Highway was accidental, but the investigation is ongoing.
The child was brought by family to Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Court documents show that when deputies arrived at the family’s residence/business, several door and storage units were found unsecured. They also found a gun and rose-colored iPhone on the ground near Fleming’s car.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or York-Poquoson’s tip line at 757-890-4999.