On the evening of Friday, August 4, 2017, six-year-old Zaylan Sparkman was shot and killed at his home on Sabine Street in Gulfport, Mississippi. Emergency services were called about 6 p.m.; Zaylan was taken to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport and pronounced dead in the emergency room at 7:12 p.m. The wound was a single, fatal gunshot to the stomach.

Police say the shot was fired by Zaylan’s 16-year-old brother, Albert Deonta Craft III, who was reportedly attempting to scare Zaylan while the child sat on a washing machine playing video games. Authorities contend Craft pointed a .38-caliber handgun, pulled the trigger once without a discharge, then pulled it a second time and the gun fired. The handgun was said to have been obtained illegally. Craft was arrested and charged with manslaughter, booked as an adult and held on $100,000 bond; the matter was set to go to grand jury after Craft waived a preliminary hearing.

This was described by the Gulfport Police Chief as a double tragedy for the family. If anyone knew Zaylan or was in that neighborhood that evening, please share what might help the investigation.