PHOENIX

Parents arrested after 9-year-old boy fatally shot in head in Phoenix

April Morganroth, Megan Cassidy, and Logan Newman
The Republic | azcentral.com
Kansas and Wendy Lavarnia were arrested in connection with the shooting of their 9-year-old son on March 20, 2017. The mother said her 2-year-old pulled the trigger, according to police.

The parents of a 9-year-old Phoenix boy who was reportedly shot and killed by his 2-year-old brother have been arrested, both facing charges for their suspected roles in the tragedy.

Phoenix police said they were working Tuesday to confirm details of the scenario, which were provided to investigators by the children's mother, 28-year-old Wendy Lavarnia.

Phoenix police confirmed on Tuesday that the 9-year-old, identified as Landen Lavarnia, had been pronounced dead at a hospital. He had been on life support since Monday after he was shot in the head, police said.

Lavarnia was booked for investigation of four counts of child abuse. Her bond was set at $25,000. Her husband, 31-year-old Kansas Lavarnia, has a felony record and was arrested on suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm, police said. Police say they are still investigating whether Kansas Lavarnia was at the home at the time of the shooting.

Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Lewis, in confirming the boy's death, said police are looking into the possibility of additional charges.

Records: Gun placed next to children

At about 3 p.m. Monday, Phoenix police say they responded to a home near 35th and Rosewood avenues to find the older boy shot once in the head.

According to court records, Wendy Lavarnia told police she had placed the 9mm handgun, which was unholstered and loaded, on the master bed, next to her 2- and 4-year-old sons. Wendy Lavarnia said the 2-year-old picked up the gun and fired it, striking the 9-year-old as he played video games a few feet away.

The woman told police the gun was not equipped with an external safety, and that on several occasions she had allowed the 2-year-old to practice pulling the trigger when the gun was unloaded, according to court records.

Lewis said the circumstances of the case exceeded those of many other accidental child shootings. The felony child-abuse charge, he said, could have been applied to any number of dangerous scenarios.

The woman was arrested for investigation of child abuse "because of the situation that she allegedly created,” Lewis said. “But let’s not lose sight of the fact that there shouldn’t have even been a gun in the house.”

Lewis said the charges and information released may change as the investigation progresses.

RELATED:

Police arrest parents of 9-year-old boy shot in head by toddler

Boy on life support after being shot in head, Phoenix police say

Tragedies not uncommon

Accidental shootings involving children are not uncommon tragedies. An analysis by the Associated Press and USA TODAY Network last year found that 19 children under 18 were involved in accidental shootings from Jan. 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016. Three children and one adult died as a result, and another 14 children and one adult were injured.

Laura Cutilletta, managing attorney for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said several states have enacted child-access prevention laws to hold custodians liable when a child gains access to a firearm that has not been properly stored.

Arizona has such a law, but it only applies to civil cases. Other states have criminal liability laws, but without them, prosecutors rely on other charges, such as child abuse and endangerment, Cutilletta said.

In California, she noted, gun sales are required to come with a warning label about the criminal liability if guns are negligently stored where a child could have access.

“I think that’s a really smart idea,” she said. “Then you’re reminded of it every time you purchase a gun.”

Like all criminal cases, prosecutors are granted discretion on how and whether to charge in such incidents.

In September, 5-year-old Savier Jones fatally shot himself in Avondale after obtaining access to his father’s gun. Ray Emmett, an Avondale Police Department spokesman, said police submitted charges against the boy’s father, Michael Lee Jones, recommending one count of child neglect or abuse and one count of child endangerment.

Emmett said the case is pending and it will be up to prosecutors on whether to officially file charges. No current charges against Jones are listed in Maricopa County Superior Court records.

'Devastating beyond belief'

Neighbors who live near the Lavarnia house expressed sympathy for the family.

“It’s tragic,” said Joan Turner, a woman who lives two doors down. “… If that happened here, I would die. It would be devastating beyond belief. It’s devastating just having it next door.”

She called Kansas Lavarnia a hard worker and said he drove a large crane truck back and forth from Nevada to Arizona. She didn’t talk to him often, but said her granddaughter would sometimes bring their dog over to the Lavarnia house for the kids to play with.

Marie Mosely, another neighbor, called him a “nice guy.”

“(They would) always talk to me and ask me how we were doing,” she said.

Mosely mentioned that she never saw the 9-year-old, but the 2-year-old would sometimes run around the front yard with just a diaper on.

Both neighbors lamented owning a gun. Mosely said she “never will” own one and Turner emphasized that if you do, it needs to be locked up in a safe and out of the reach of kids.

Birsa Betty said she’s lived in the neighborhood for 57 years. She said the neighborhood has never had those types of problems, just a drug-related incident “years ago.”

“It would kill me,” she said. “It would break my heart so bad. I just can’t imagine if it was one of my grandchildren.”

READ MORE:

Roberts: Should mother face charges in 9-year-old son's shooting?

When a child is shot, everyone feels the pain: Arizona's minors, first responders touched by accidental shootings

Police identify 5-year-old Avondale boy who fatally shot himself

Police: Avondale 5-year-old finds dad's gun, fatally shoots self