On October 27, 2015, two-year-old Waylon Dennington died after finding his father’s semi-automatic handgun on a bed in the family home on Athena Court in Acworth, Georgia. The toddler handled the firearm while his father, Grant Dennington, was briefly in the bathroom; emergency responders arrived around 7:30 p.m. and found the child deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A four-year-old sibling was in the home and was unharmed.

Acworth Police processed the scene, interviewed family members and collected evidence. Investigators and the Cobb County District Attorney concluded the shooting was a tragic accident, and no criminal charges were filed against Grant Dennington. Authorities said leaving the weapon on the bed was not routine for the father and that it had been unattended for a minute or two.

Does anyone have information about this family or the broader issue of negligent firearm storage laws in Georgia at the time?