Mother of Rock Hill toddler who fatally shot himself turns herself in to face neglect charge

The mother of a 3-year-old who fatally shot himself in his family’s Rock Hill home in November has been charged with neglect, according to the Rock Hill Police Department.

Patricia Carter, 29, turned herself in to detectives Thursday and was charged with unlawful neglect of a child, said Capt. Mark Bollinger, a Rock Hill Police spokesman. She was released on $15,000 bond.

Carter’s son, 3-year-old Sa’Vion Barrow, died Nov. 15 after he shot himself in the head at his family’s home on Amelia Avenue, police have said.

Investigators say Carter left a loaded Hi-Point 9mm pistol on the bed, where Sa’Vion was lying, according to an arrest warrant.

It was the second Rock Hill shooting involving a toddler in barely a month.

In October, police charged the great-aunt of a 2-year-old boy with unlawful carrying of a gun after the child was able to get the gun while in the woman’s car, accidentally shooting the child’s grandmother. The grandmother survived.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 10:14 AM with the headline "Mother of Rock Hill toddler who fatally shot himself turns herself in to face neglect charge."