Ashton Omari Winbush was two years old when he died from a gunshot wound to the head on August 23, 2021, at his apartment on Hilltop Drive in Albany, Georgia. Born October 20, 2018, Ashton was described as a cheerful, bright-eyed toddler loved by family and community.

The shooting occurred after Ashton and his seven-year-old brother found a small-caliber semi-automatic handgun and began to play with it, reportedly thinking it was a toy. At the time, the boys’ grandmother and another adult were in the residence; their mother was not present. A toy gun was also found at the scene, and the mother had earlier tried to secure the firearm by placing it high in a chifferobe.

Dougherty County authorities and the District Attorney Greg Edwards investigated and concluded the death was a tragic accident and did not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges; no arrests were made. What details about the firearm’s storage or access remain unclear to readers?