CUMBERLAND, Ind. — Cumberland Police said a 5-year-old boy shot and killed his 4-year-old sister, Deor Neita, inside their Cumberland apartment Wednesday afternoon.
Their mother, Melody Neita, is grieving the loss of one child and the trauma of another who pulled the trigger. Melody spoke to 13News Thursday in a brief interview before the mother of five was overcome with grief.
Melody shared a family photo taken just days before on July 4. Deor just turned 4 last month.
"Deor was a happy child,” said Melody, her voice cracking with emotion. “She was sweet, nice, loving."
Melody said she spoke to Deor for the last time when she came home to their Cumberland apartment during a break from work Wednesday afternoon.
"My baby came downstairs and told me, 'Bye' and that she loved me,” Melody said. “I went back to work, and a couple of hours later, I got a call from my grandma saying my baby is dead."
Deor's great-grandmother was watching five children, ages 6 years old and under, at the apartment. While she changed a baby's diaper downstairs, investigators believe Deor's brother found a fully loaded 9 mm handgun in a dresser drawer in an upstairs bedroom and accidentally shot his sister.
"The children were downstairs with great-grandma,” Cumberland Police Chief Suzanne Crooke-Woodland said. “Grandma was changing the infant. The kids ran upstairs. Grandma was putting the baby's clothes back on him, and she heard the gunshot. And the three come downstairs in horror, crying and saying one of them had shot the other."
The children were taken into protective custody until they can be interviewed by detectives alongside child advocates.
Melody said she did not know there was a gun in the apartment. Melody and her children live at the apartment with the great-grandmother of the children. Police believe the father of the 2-month-old also stays at the apartment sometimes and may have brought other adults into the apartment as well.
Investigators are waiting on test results to see who has handled the gun to help determine who is the owner.
Cumberland police remind everyone to store their guns safely and securely where children can't get to them.
"I would think at this point that people would be so tired of seeing these tragedies on the news that they would step up and do something more to secure their firearms, quit carrying them around like their pets,” Crooke-Woodland said. “Just respect it."
Free gun locks are available at the Cumberland Police Department and Marion County Public Library branches.
State Rep. Mitch Gore (D-Cumberland), also a captain with the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said he's a supporter of the 2nd Amendment. But he said if someone's negligence with gun storage leads to someone getting hurt or killed, that person should be held accountable.
Gore said he's introduced legislation on the topic multiple times.
"It says when you're not at home, you have to store your guns safely. It is perfectly constitutional," Gore said. "We have 2nd Amendment rights. The rights don't stay with the gun when we're away from them. And it could be a real meaningful step in making sure adults do what they're supposed to do."