A mother and father have been arrested after their 4-year-old twin boys were shot upon discovering a handgun hidden in a couch at their family home in Florida, authorities said.
Both children, who were not named, were critically wounded in the gunfire and rushed to AdventHealth East Orlando, where they remained in stable condition as of Monday night, officials told ClickOrlando.
Their 39-year-old mother, Keishara Goodrum, was arrested on two counts of child neglect with great bodily harm while their father, Maurice Bright Jr., 40, is facing a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Goodrum told detectives she’d been drinking heavily the night before the shooting — which occurred early Saturday morning — and at one point grabbed her handgun, NBC News reported, citing an arrest affidavit. She said because she hadn’t been wearing clothing with waistband, she tucked her gun between the cushions on the couch, and then forgot she’d done so.
Goodrum was cooking in the kitchen the next morning when she heard “a loud ‘pop’” come from the living room, according to the affidavit. Bright, who claimed to be outside a the time, said he rushed back into the house upon hearing the “commotion.” The parents they immediately loaded both boys into the car and rushed the to AdventHealth.
Medical staff there then alerted authorities to the shooting, triggering an investigation.
