On July 31, 2021, 5-year-old Serenity Robinson of Columbus, Ohio, died after accidentally shooting herself with an unsecured firearm inside her family’s home on the city’s Northeast Side. The shooting happened about 9:45 a.m. and Serenity was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

Columbus police homicide detectives investigated and presented their findings to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. A grand jury returned indictments charging Serenity’s parents, Antwan Robinson and Breana Mathews; both were arrested without incident by a Columbus police SWAT team. The case has been classified as a homicide due to the circumstances involving the unsecured gun and questions about the adults’ legal responsibility.

What did neighbors or anyone who knew the family notice about how firearms were stored in the household that morning?