3 kids shot, 2 dead in accidental shootings in 3-day span

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - Three children shot in three days, all by accident and all by their own hands.

Two of those victims, boys 8 and 4 years old, died from their injuries. The third victim, a 4-year-old girl, is still in critical condition at last check.

These developments have prompted Memphis police to issue a desperate plea for parents to lock up their guns before their child becomes the latest statistic.

A mother's tears can be the most difficult to hear. Neighbors felt her pain when they learned that 8-year-old DeAndre Wilhite died after shooting himself.

"I feel so sorry for the family," said family friend Monica Kelly.

Over and over, family members came to the scene with theirs in their eyes and pain in their heart.

"I'm sad because of what he said had happened and I'm hurt, but I know God has that child," said Roxie Driver, who lives nearby.

Family said that DeAndre would always spend Sundays with his grandmother and father at their home. They go to church together each week.

"There's so much happening out here right now," said Anna Cole, who knows the family. "And I didn't know it was so close to home."

"Whatever you have a gun for, take it, lock it up or either don't have a gun," Driver said.

According to the Safe Tennessee Project, Memphis is first in the nation in unintentional shootings of children.

Memphis police urge everyone to properly lock up their guns. They said it can be inexpensive and it can save a young life, because they're sick of scenes like this.

"One person can't solve the problem," Driver said. "Everybody got to work together."

"They need to put them up, that's all I need to say," Kelly said.

Another child, dead... cutting their future short with a gun they should never have had in their hands.