On May 25, 2020, 4-year-old My’onna Hinton followed her 7-year-old relative, identified only as Tee, into an apartment with a 9-year-old boy who wanted to show Tee something. What he showed the Tee was a gun, and what happened next will impact the children for the rest of their lives. After the 9-year-old handed Tee the gun, Tee, who thought it was a toy, pulled the trigger and accidentally shot My’onna. In an extensive look at the case, the Washington Post reports that while My’onna miraculously survived, she is still unable to walk and struggles with movement in her upper body as well, while the owner of the illegal, unregistered gun, Juwan T. Ford, took a plea deal that resulted in a sentence of just 18 months behind bars.
Ford, 23, came into the Washington, DC, apartment only after the 9-year-old, Tee, and another child all came out to find him; once inside, he walked past My’onna as she bled on the floor, asked Tee for the gun, wrapped it in a shirt, and left. Police never found the firearm. The Post piece delves into DC's issues with holding gun offenders accountable, as well as its Youth Rehabilitation Act law, which allows people up to the age of 24 to have their criminal records sealed from public view—which, in Ford's case, could happen by 2025. In addition to the 18 months in prison, he was sentenced to three years of probation and rehab. It also looks at the impact on My’onna's mom, who had to give up her career dreams to care for her daughter during the day and work as a security guard at night, and on Tee—who fears his playmate might never forgive him. (Read the full article.)
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