In mid-October 2021 a four-year-old boy, Kingston Barksdale, was fatally shot at a mobile home park on White Horse Road in Greenville, South Carolina. Emergency services were alerted that morning when Kingston’s father called to report his son had been shot; Kingston was taken to Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital in critical condition and later died.

Greenville County Sheriff’s Office investigators determined the shooting was accidental. According to reports, another child under the age of ten found a firearm inside the residence and the weapon discharged, striking Kingston. His parents, Samantha Nicole Dodson and Javaris Eugene Barksdale, and Kingston’s siblings were publicly remembered at a vigil and community events honoring the boy, who liked superheroes and was described as compassionate.

At the time of the initial reports no charges had been filed and investigators emphasized secure firearm storage. If anyone has information about this incident or about safe storage practices in homes with children, please share what you know.