'Daddy's gun is in the drawer': 3-year-old accidentally shoots his 2-year-old brother to death after finding loaded firearm in bedroom dresser leading to parents' conviction

Insets: Tashaun Adams and Selena Farrell. Background: Cops in Covington, Kentucky, investigate after a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot his 2-year-old brother to death (WLWT).

A mother and father in Kentucky were convicted after their 3-year-old son got ahold of a gun in the dresser of his bedroom and accidentally shot his 2-year-old brother dead.

Tashaun Adams, 23, and Selena Farrell, 25, were found guilty Friday of reckless homicide in the death of Khalil Adams after a weeklong trial, according to the Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney. Jurors also convicted of abandoning a child.

Cops said Adams and Farrell were fast asleep on a January afternoon in 2024 and not supervising their toddler kids who were playing in their room at the family's Covington apartment. The elder child knew his father kept a gun in the dresser of the bedroom where he and his brother slept.

"Daddy's gun is in the drawer," the boy later told police, a criminal complaint obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer stated.

The boy grabbed the firearm and began playing with it. He accidentally shot his brother. Paramedics rushed Khalil to a hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

Adams testified he was sleeping when he heard a gunshot. He ran to the bedroom where he saw Khalil on the floor.

"His eyes were closed," he reportedly said. "It didn't look like he was breathing."

He has accepted responsibility for his actions.

"I blame myself for it every day," he testified, the Enquirer stated.

While Adams stayed on scene, Farrell fled. She was arrested a few days later at a hotel where she told cops she "knew Khalil was going to die and wanted to attend his funeral," local NBC affiliate WLWT reported.

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Kenton County Commonwealth Prosecutor Rob Sanders told reporters at the time that the shooting, while tragic, was no accident.

"I really don't like the term accident, because I think accidents, in my mind, are unavoidable," he said. "This was not an unavoidable set of circumstances. This shooting death was caused by the fact that two adults left a loaded handgun with a round in the chamber within reach of a 3-year-old child that they did not supervise."

Sanders delivered the closing argument to jurors where he reiterated the same point.

"This case is about the parents' choices," he said, per the Enquirer. "They made lots of mistakes, but they weren't accidents."

What's worse is Adams had been warned before about the dangers of leaving an unsecured gun within reach of children. About two years before the shooting, cops reportedly found a gun — the same one used to kill Khalil — unsecured in a bedroom. A few months later authorities with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services once again discovered a gun within reach of the kids, prosecutors stated, according to the Enquirer.

Adams reportedly signed a prevention plan advising he would ensure a "safe and stable environment" where the kids were adequately supervised.

Per the Enquirer, jurors recommended Adams serve five years and Farrell seven years. A sentencing date has yet to be set.