A Florida woman was arrested and charged several months after police say that her 4-year-old son found a gun in her purse and accidentally shot himself in the face. The case emerged after deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office were first called to a home in Sarasota for a report of a child shooting himself, PEOPLE reported, citing a probable cause affidavit filed in court on August 28, 2026.
The accused was identified as Diamond Phillips, 29. She was arrested on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, according to court records viewed by the news outlet. Her son had passed away on June 21. She was charged with culpable negligence involving a firearm accessible to a minor. She was released on September 23, 2026, on a $10,000 bond, according to jail records. She is next set to appear in court on Nov. 6.
What did deputies allege in the probable cause affidavit
According to the probable cause affidavit, deputies alleged that Phillips’ son climbed onto a kitchen stool and reached into his mother’s purse, which was kept on a kitchen island. They further claimed that the child pulled a .380 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol from the purse and shot himself in the face, PEOPLE reported
What did the forensics and autopsy report reveal?
Forensics and autopsy information revealed that the child was likely looking down the barrel of the handgun when it went off. A fragment of a bullet was discovered on the kitchen ceiling.
During the investigation, investigators also discovered a spent cartridge casing lodged in the gun’s ejection port and chamber that pointed to a stovepipe malfunction, which “was likely caused by insufficient grip resistance during firing, which is consistent with a young child operating the firearm,” PEOPLE quoted the sheriff’s office as saying in the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the grandmother of the 4-year-old boy was home at the time of the incident. She told him and his 2-year-old brother, who was in the kitchen at the time, not to climb on the counter moments before the gun went off.
What did Phillips tell investigators
According to the affidavit, Phillips told deputies that she kept her gun in a small compartment inside her purse and she had placed the purse in the middle of the kitchen island, which, according to her, was not accessible to her kids. She further said that her kids were not allowed to climb onto the kitchen stools or eat at the counter.
Speaking to the detectives, Phillips said that usually she keeps her gun in the bottom zippered compartment of her purse without a holster, along with an extra magazine, “for protection while away from home,” according to the affidavit. However, on the day when the incident occured, the gun was loaded and “not otherwise secured” when she put it on the kitchen island.
