Ivan Johnson a 17-year-old who was shot in the eye with a BB Gun pellet by an eight-year-old has died from his injuries, according to multiple reports.
On Feb. 1, Johnson was sitting in the passenger seat of a car belonging to an adult male along with the man’s eight-year-old son and 10-year-old stepson in the parking lot of the Bank of America at 100 North Westshore Boulevard, according to Bay News 9.
Police say while the driver was at the ATM, the 8-year-old reportedly moved a loaded Daisy 800 BB gun/pellet rifle when it accidentally fired off, hitting Johnson in the left eye according to WFLA 8.
Johnson was taken to the Tampa General Hospital, Johnson’s mother, Camisha Denny, said, according to Tampa Bay Times. Denny used her Facebook as a platform to ask people to pray for her son. A family friend also created a GoFundMe page to help the family with funerary costs.
After spending a few more days in the hospital on life support, Johnson succumbed to his injuries and passed away, the news outlet reported. Following his death, Johnson’s organs were donated by his family, which went to nine people, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The news outlet reported that earlier in the day on Feb. 1, the adult male along with several boys were playing with BB Guns until a Tampa police officer asked them to put the guns away. According to Denny, the man put the BB guns in the back of his car.
Later on, Johnson got in the car with the male along with the male’s sons as the adult male drove them to the store, according to the news outlet. The male was not identified, nor were his son and stepson.
“They started off saying it was an accident. I think that’s more so because the guy said that he was [Johnson’s] father and he’s not. We don’t know the person at all. We saw him for the first time ever on that day,” Denny said, according to Spectrum News.
Police initially said the man was Johnson’s dad, and then later, it was changed to a family friend. Denny said that the adult male was none of those things because she had never met the man before Feb. 1, according to Tampa Bay Times.
She said that during the time her son was in the hospital on life support, the father did not visit, apologize, nor did he leave some sort of note for her son, the news outlet reported.
“The father, it’s negligence on his behalf, that gun should have been secured and put away,” Denny said, according to Tampa Bay Times.
Denny and her relatives are still trying to figure out what exactly happened that led to her son being shot, according to Tampa Bay Times.
“I really think something needs to be done, justice needs to served for my son. We need answers. We’re not getting any answers,” Denny said, according to the news outlet.
The Tampa Police have turned the investigation over to the State Attorney’s Office, according to Spectrum News. The news outlet also reported that the family said that the male and his sons left town and were in Ft. Lauderdale.
At the moment, no charges have been filed.
