In a pair of harrowing incidents, young children in Miami-Dade County found themselves with firearms in hand and severe, self-inflicted gunshot wounds. In one case, Orlando Young, 23, has been charged with felony child neglect after a 3-year-old girl under his supervision shot herself in the hand with a gun he left unattended on a living room sofa, according to Local 10 News. Young admitted to police that he had placed the gun on the couch momentarily while absorbed in a football game on television. The child subsequently underwent surgery and her condition following the incident has not been publicly updated.

In a separate incident, a 3-year-old boy managed, to shoot himself outside of a Home Depot in Hialeah. His grandfather, 43-year-old Cedric Hightower, a 14-time convicted felon, is now facing charges of felon in possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a minor. The boy's parents found him bleeding from his left thumb after he apparently accessed the gun inside a backpack left by Hightower, as reported by Patewonnida. Police later arrested Hightower who had fled the scene following the incident, and he confessed to the charges at his hearing before Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer.

At the hearing, Glazer said to Hightower, "Look, I understand it's an accident, but you're a convicted felon and you shouldn't have a gun. I understand you said you found that backpack that had the gun and the money in it, but obviously it was very — it’s very unfortunate what happened, I hope the baby will be fine." Noting Hightower's criminal history, which includes nearly six years in prison on drug charges near a Miami-Dade school, she declared him ineligible for house arrest, despite his attorney's request, citing the gravity of the current situation where the boy "has probably lost his thumb".

These events come amid ongoing debates on gun control and child safety, with each case shedding light on the dire consequences of firearms accessibility to minors. Young remains held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $12,500 bond, facing additional battery charges stemming from a separate case, as per Local 10 News. Meanwhile, Hightower also received a bond set at $12,500 and was ordered to avoid any contact with the victim, his home, and school.

Formal charges and legal repercussions in these cases potentially extend beyond current accusations, as the investigations continue to develop. The fate of the children involved underscores a chilling reminder of the perils that unsecured firearms pose, particularly when they fall into the hands of the most innocent among us.