Maaliyah Williamson was 9 when she died in Memphis on May 14, 2023. The child, who enjoyed cheerleading and had perfect attendance at Ford Elementary School, was playing in a family friend’s car on East Biscayne Road with her 7-year-old brother on Mother’s Day afternoon when he found a loaded handgun in the glove compartment. The brother accidentally discharged the weapon; Maaliyah was found unresponsive next to the vehicle and later died at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Police arrested the gun’s owner, 53-year-old James Bowen Jr., a convicted felon who was not legally allowed to possess a firearm. He was charged with criminally negligent homicide, aggravated child abuse, and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun; court records later show the criminally negligent homicide charge was dismissed. Maaliyah’s family says her mother did not know Bowen carried a gun, and the brother remains traumatized by the shooting.

Does anyone have information about safe-storage practices or local resources that helped families after this incident?