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Gun's owner remains unknown in shooting

Investigators don't know whether the weapon a 4-year-old shot himself with belonged to his mother.

By Times Staff
Published December 20, 2005

TAMPA - Hillsborough sheriff's detectives are still investigating whose gun a 4-year-old Tampa boy used to fatally shoot himself Sunday morning.

"They're still trying to establish ownership," sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said Monday.

Jovan Mitchell died from a single wound to the head from a 9mm handgun. Deputies said his mother, 18-year-old Charvanette Mitchell, was in another room at their east Tampa apartment when Jovan apparently found the gun. His 5-year-old cousin said that Jovan crawled into a closet and then he heard the gunshot.

Carter said detectives still can't say whether the gun possibly belonged to Jovan's mother.

"That's still one of the questions," Carter said.

Florida law requires anyone who stores a loaded gun around children to keep it in a locked box or away from the child's reach.

No charges have been filed. Officials must wait seven days before filing any charges of culpable negligence related to a juvenile and a gunshot, a requirement that allows emotions to subside.

Jovan was his mother's only child. The family apartment was quiet and closed Monday, and family members could not be reached for comment.

[Last modified December 20, 2005, 01:49:07]