North Carolina man charged in fatal shooting of toddler

Published 4:11 pm Thursday, September 9, 2021

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A North Carolina man has been arrested in the shooting death last month of a 23-month-old child, police said.

Winston-Salem police said in a news release that Rico Monta Smith III, 19, who turned himself in on Tuesday, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Deon Stover.

According to the news release, Smith and his girlfriend were babysitting Deon on Aug. 3 when Smith attempted to unload a handgun. Police said the handgun went off and struck the toddler. Smith was driving the child to the hospital when police officers encountered the car on an unrelated traffic accident and called emergency personnel, who took the child to the hospital, where he died.

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Smith is being held on a $15,000 bond. It’s not known if he has an attorney.

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