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Tampa mother of 4-year-old who shot himself arrested for aggravated child neglect

 
Published April 5, 2017

TAMPA — The mother of a 4-year-old boy who shot himself in the chest after finding a loaded handgun was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of aggravated child neglect resulting in serious injury, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The incident took place Jan. 24. Delicia D Forte, 24, was arrested at Moffitt Cancer Center's Magnolia Campus, located at the University of South Florida, and was being held in the county jail in lieu of $7,500 bail. Her boyfriend, Akia A Thomas, has also been jailed in lieu of $54,000 bail since his arrest Jan. 24 on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of ammunition by a felon, unsafe storage of a firearm and possession of cocaine.

The three children who lived with the couple in the 12000 block of Tinsley Circle at Key Vista Apartments near University Mall have been placed in foster care, deputies said.

Forte, who works at Moffitt, was taking her 1-year-old daughter to day care the morning her son found an unsecured Taurus .380 handgun loaded with 9 rounds of ammunition underneath a dresser and accidentally shot himself in the chest, deputies said.

The 4-year-old, Roshad Richardson, survived. He had been left alone with Thomas, according to the Sheriff's Office.