Adorable girl shot dead by her brother after pair find father's rifle while playing at home

Daily Mail​

20 hours ago

An Arizona father is facing charges after his young daughter was shot dead by her brother who found their dad's assault rifle in his bedroom.
Layla Ramos, five, was shot in the torso inside her South Phoenix, Arizona home on June 3, and was rushed to a nearby psychiatric hospital, where her family hoped she would receive emergency medical treatment, according to AZFamily.
She was then transported to a trauma center, where she was pronounced dead.
But when the girl's father, Irvin Ramos-Jimenez, 33, called police to the scene he claimed that his daughter was stabbed.
When officers then arrived on the scene, they learned that Ramos-Jimenez had driven off while rushing his daughter to the psychiatric center.
He had apparently fled after seeing an ambulance arrive at the psychiatric center, and returned home because he realized he left other children alone in the house with his illegally-owned AR-style rifle, 12 News reports.
When officers finally caught up with him, the father allegedly told police that he was outside the family's home when he heard a loud bang.
He then ran into his nine-year-old son's room, where he said he found Layla had been shot, Arizona Republic reports.
At that point, court documents say he admitted to police that he stored the rifle on the top shelf of his son's room and said the boy 'must have grabbed the gun.'
Neighbors also noted that after the shooting, the unidentified brother ran out of the house, frantic and screaming.
Two 14 year olds were also in the boy's room at the time, the court filing states.
Ramos-Jimenez even allegedly admitted he knew he was not legally allowed to own a firearm due to a 2021 felony drug conviction, but obtained the AR-style weapon through a 'private sale' for 'personal protection.'
The father was then taken into custody on suspicion of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, but was released on his own recognizance the following day - despite prosecutors' objections.
They had asked a Maricopa County judge to hold Ramos-Jimenez on a $250,000 secure bond.
'He brought a gun into a home with kids - and not just any gun, it was an assault rifle,' prosecutors argued in court last week, according to ABC 15.
'He stored it in his nine-year-old's bedroom and if this gun had not been in the house, we wouldn't have had the outcome we did.'
The Maricopa County judge, though, ultimately denied the state's request and let Ramos-Jimenez walk free.
He is now not allowed to have contact with any of the victims or witnesses to the shooting.
In the meantime, the family is hoping to lay Layla to rest at a burial site for babies and children, her uncle wrote in an online fundraiser.
It described the young girl as the family's 'little princess who got her wings way too soon.
'She was so loving, smart and a truly beautiful soul,' Layla's uncle, Jose Ramos, writes in the fundraiser - which has already raised over $10,000 for her funeral expenses.
The young girl's mother, Dolores Ramirez, also released a statement saying: 'My sweet daughter Layla was only five years old, but she filled our world with a love and light far beyond her years. She had the gentlest soul - kind, soft-hearted and always so loving.
'Layla was the kind of child who made everyone feel special with just a smile or a quiet hug.
'She was so excited for school to start soon; she would talk about it with such love and anticipation,' Ramirez added.
'She loved deeply and purely, and that love will stay with us forever.
'Though her time with us was far too short, Layla's beautiful spirit will always live on in our hearts,' she concluded.