Indianapolis woman charged with neglect in son’s accidental shooting death

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old Indianapolis boy who died last spring after accidentally shooting himself has been charged with neglect in connection with his death.

Monick Mack, 27, faces one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. She is scheduled for a Thursday initial hearing. Online court records did not list an attorney for Mack.

Her son, Billy Ray Mack II, shot himself on April 16 at an Indianapolis apartment complex. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. A probable cause affidavit detailing his mother’s arrest does not indicate where the gun came from or how the boy got the weapon, The Indianapolis Star reported.

Indianapolis police said in court records that Monick Mack and her son’s aunt were in a car outside the apartment when officers arrived, and an investigator noted blood stains on Mack’s clothing.

Billy Ray Mack’s death is one of several cases of accidental shootings in Indianapolis so far this year, prompting police to urge gun owners to safely store their firearms.

By early July, a quarter of nonfatal accidental shootings in Indianapolis involved juveniles.