On May 25, 2015, four-year-old Makayla Manners died in her family’s apartment in Yonkers, New York, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face after reportedly finding a semi-automatic handgun in the home. Initial reports said she was expected to live, but she died four days later. Investigators sought to determine how the child obtained the weapon; accounts conflicted about who was supervising her at the time. Neighbors said the mother and her boyfriend were arguing inside, while family friends said Makayla was with her aunt. One neighbor said the mother, Tantania Manners, was outside speaking with friends as the aunt supervised the child.

In April 2017 Tantania Manners was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor alleging the apartment contained illegal, unsecured, loaded firearms and narcotics that created an unsafe environment enabling Makayla to find a gun. She was held on $5,000 bail.