The family of a girl who was shot and killed at her babysitter’s house in North Carolina in 2023 is suing the babysitter, whose 11-year-old son allegedly shot the girl, and the gun owner, who the family says failed to secure the automatic pistol used in the shooting.
“We can talk about an 11-year-old child and what he did and shouldn’t have done, but we gotta hold the adults responsible, accountable for the actions of children they’re supposed to supervise,” Harry Daniels, the attorney representing the family of 8-year-old Jenesis Dockery, said at a news conference Tuesday.
The wrongful death lawsuit is against babysitter Chrystle Michael and gun owner Thomas Michael, who according to the lawsuit failed to secure the automatic pistol that led to Jenesis’ death.
Law Firm of Harry M. Daniels
On July 25, 2023, Jenesis and her sister were being watched at the Fayetteville home of Chrystle Michael when, the Dockery family says, Jenesis was shot in the head by the babysitter’s 11-year-old son.
According to the lawsuit, the boy had taken the gun while staying with Thomas Michael, his grandfather. The lawsuit states that the boy had a “strong interest” in guns and his grandfather knew that and should have stored the gun safely. Thomas Michael also did not report the gun missing after it was taken.
In August 2023, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office requested that the Division of Juvenile Justice charge the boy with two counts of larceny of a firearm and manslaughter, according to a news release.
Daniels said at Tuesday’s news conference that the Dockery family is “dedicated” to helping other families who are victims of gun violence with “stricter” gun laws.
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Fon Dockery, Jenesis’ father, said at Tuesday’s news conference that his family has been “changed forever.”
He called the “tragedy” “preventable.” He said his family has been in therapy for two years, “trying to manage life” without Jenesis.
North Carolina does not have any laws requiring unattended guns to be stored in a certain way, according to Giffords, an organization aimed at ending gun violence. However, it is a misdemeanor for a gun owner who lives with a minor leave the firearm where it can be discharged.
