Ashton Walden was a nine-year-old student at Reuben B. Myers Canton School of Arts & Sciences who died after being shot in June 2021. On June 2, 2021, Ashton, his 10-year-old brother and their 2-year-old sister were inside a car on the 100 block of Hargon Street in Canton, Mississippi while their mother and her boyfriend went into a friend’s house. A firearm that had been left under a seat was found by the toddler, who accidentally discharged it; Ashton was struck in the head and died at a hospital the next day.

Authorities charged the children’s mother with neglect for leaving them unattended and submitted the case to the Madison County District Attorney for possible additional charges. After the shooting, Ashton’s two siblings were placed with their grandmother. The Canton Public Schools District asked the community to keep Ashton’s family and friends in their thoughts.

Did anyone in Canton know the family or have information about how the children came to be left in the vehicle that day?