Police say mom was arrested after a 4-year-old reportedly shot himself in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO — A 4-year-old boy is expected to survive after Sacramento police said he shot himself Friday afternoon in south Sacramento and his mother was arrested on similar charges.

Latisha Walker, 26, is charged with three felonies, including possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, endangering the life of a child and criminal storage of a firearm. Her bail is set at $75,000.

The charges stem from a shooting Friday around 1:45 p.m. in the 4500 block of Mack Road.

While police were on the way, customers in nearby stores heard the boy calling for help.

One of those who heard him was 19-year-old Shynice Cordoba, who was in a nail salon when she heard the boy’s mother’s screams and a “noise” but no gunshot.

“I go outside and he’s just lying on the ground. I need something to put pressure on his wound,” Cordoba said. She said at that point the boy’s mother was outside and screaming.

Employees at a nearby restaurant told CBS13 that the four-year-old’s mother was inside picking up a food order in less than five minutes, and when she went back outside, her son had already been shot.

“I’ll get the handkerchief and put it on his wound. He was talking to me and I was talking to him, he was really scared,” Cordoba said. “He kept saying he shot himself, he shot himself. So I thought: It’s okay that you’re not in trouble. It’s okay.”

Cordoba said the boy tried to stand up, but she told him to stay on his side to slow the bleeding. She said she was referencing Paw Patrol, a children’s animated series that features rescue dogs as first responders, including police. When the boy told her he liked the show, she said she used it as an example of the heroes on their journey to help, pointing to the Sacramento Police Department.

According to a police spokesman, officers quickly arrived at the scene and provided medical care to the child on site before taking him to a local hospital.

Hours after the shooting, investigators closed part of the mall and the parking lot to traffic. Walker was arrested within two hours of the shooting and was being held in the Sacramento County Jail on Friday evening.

Walker will make his first court appearance on the charges on Wednesday.