Inset: Richard Willis and his son River Willis (GoFundMe). Background: Willis appearing for court hearing after River accidentally shot himself to death with his dad's gun (WAGA).
A Georgia man is behind bars after his 2-year-old son allegedly got ahold of a gun that was inside a fanny pack on a bed and accidentally shot himself to death.
Richard Lee Willis stands accused of second-degree murder and cruelty to children in the death of River Willis in Sandy Springs, which sits just outside Atlanta.
Officers responded around 2 p.m. Wednesday to an apartment complex in the 2600 block of Sandalwood Drive for a report of a shooting. When they went inside the apartment they found River suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead.
Cops arrested Willis later that day.
Authorities accused Willis of "causing cruel and excessive pain" to his son by leaving the loaded weapon within the boy's reach. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Willis and his wife had just returned from a doctor's appointment when he took off his fanny pack, which contained a loaded 9 mm pistol, and placed it on his bed.
Willis then sent River upstairs for a nap in the boy's room with a cellphone. Shortly thereafter, River came down and said the cellphone was dead. Willis allegedly told his son to go to the master bedroom and sleep on the bed. The victim asked his father to "please lay with him until he goes to sleep." Willis said he would be up in a few minutes.
"Said accused stated minutes later he heard a gunshot, ran upstairs and discovered his fanny pack open, his pistol by the victim's leg and a gunshot wound to his face," cops wrote.
The defendant remains in the Fulton County Jail without a bond — but Willis' family is reportedly standing behind him.
"The family wanted me to express their profound thoughts and prayers for the loss of baby River," Clint Rucker, Willis' attorney, told the court during a hearing Friday, according to local Fox affiliate WAGA. "They are very much in favor of the court setting a bond in this case and allowing Mr. Willis to come home."
A GoFundMe started by River's mother described Willis as a loving father.
"No matter the time of day, if our little boy asked, 'Daddy, play with me,' there was never hesitation. Not once. It didn't matter if he had just walked through the door from a long day of work or if he was exhausted. He would drop everything," she wrote. "Because to him, being a father wasn't a task it was a privilege. He fed him his favorite foods even if that meant pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Seeing them together was love in its purest form a father pouring his whole heart into his son, and a little boy who absolutely adored his daddy. And as his mother, there was no greater gift than witnessing that bond."
The description goes on to call River "curious, joyful, full of energy." She described the incident as a "tragic accident" that has left the family planning a funeral.
"One moment, our home was filled with laughter, tiny footsteps, and the sound of a voice just learning how to say 'I love you.' The next moment, our world went silent," the description said. "We are a loving family of four. Now, we are trying to learn how to breathe as a family of three."
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