NEWARK, N.J. (WCBS 880) -- Three people have been charged in the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old boy in Newark Sunday.
Acting Essex Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II announced that his office is investigating the shooting death of Jahmeer Allen.
On Sunday, police responded to Schuyler Avenue in Newark on reports of a child suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to officials.
An investigation found that the child, who was disabled and in a wheelchair, sustained fatal injuries. Officials said at the time of the shooting, a 10-year-old was also in the house and the victim’s aunt, Jahnaya Black, was asleep.
So far, three people have been charged — Black, 23, and Shaneefa Allen, 43, who is the grandmother and legal guardian of the 8-year-old. They have been charged with second-degree engendering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors said Shaneefa Allen was not home at the time of the shooting, and Black was the only adult home at the time.
Marquis Wright, 18, has been charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree transporting a manufactured firearm without a serial number and the disorderly persons offense of allowing a minor access to a loaded firearm. Wright is the victim’s uncle.
It has been alleged that Wright brought the gun into the apartment and left it unattended.
The two women charged are in custody, while Wright remains at large, prosecutors said.