EDMONDSON, AR - A Mid-South grandmother could face jail time after her 6 year-old grandson was shot and seriously injured with her gun. Investigators in Crittenden County, Arkansas say the little boy's 9 year-old brother pulled the trigger.
The shooting happened Sunday, May 31, 2009 in the tiny town of Edmondson, Arkansas about 30 miles outside Memphis. Three days later, on Wednesday, the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department arrested 60 year-old Fannie Waterford and charged her with child endangerment, a class D Felony charge.
"The whole community is going through a lot," says Waterford's neighbor, Dock Hall. "Because we love Fannie. And we love the children."
Hall says the irony in this tragedy is that no one loves the kids in Edmondson more, than Fannie Waterford.
"It's really sad. The whole community," says Hall, "is standing behind Miss Fannie because we know if there was anything she could have done, she would have taken the child's place if she could."
About a year ago, Miss Fannie turned her back shed into a little store where kids can get a soda, chips or some ice cream. But instead of grabbing a snack last weekend, investigators say Miss Fannie's grandchildren grabbed her .22 rifle that she keeps for protection.
And in the blink of an eye, the woman known best for spoiling and disciplining the kids, was in trouble for hurting them.
"She loves children," says neighbor Ruben Hall. "She loves children. She might get on them but she'll feed them anything she has in that store. She loves children. It's just a freak accident."
Fannie Waterford and her family declined to give an interview but did release a statement to myEyewitnessNews.com. "We are together," says Waterford's daughter, Thelma. "The baby is fine. He should be home shortly. My mother is deeply sorry. She loves both the children. They're here with her every day."
Dock Hall says despite the shooting and the criminal charges, the neighborhood children will keep visiting Miss Fannie and her little store. In a town where almost everyone is related, the accidental shooting of a 6 year-old boy and the possible jail time his grandmother faces, touches everyone.
"We are praying for the child," says Hall. "And we are concerned for Fannie."
The little boy had surgery at Lebonheur and is expected to make a full recovery. Investigators say his older brother will not face any charges.
