JONES COUNTY, Miss (WHLT) – Jones County deputies arrested a mother and a man after a seven-year-old girl was shot in January.
The shooting happened at a home in the 600 block of Ira G. Odom Road in the Johnson community on Monday, January 27.
According to investigators, the unidentified girl was transported to the South Central Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) in Laurel and was later airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson.
Investigators said the girl’s mother, Leeola Waters, 31, has been charged with child deprivation of necessities with substantial harm.
“It appears that Waters left her three minor children unsupervised in their home for an extended period of time with easy access to loaded firearms, drugs, and drug paraphernalia that resulted in critical injuries to one of the children,” said Jones County Investigator Xavier Thigpen.
The homeowner, Zane Stewart, 33, was also arrested and charged with felon in possession of a firearm.
Waters and Stewart are both being held at the Jones County Adult Detention Facility until their initial appearance in Jones County Justice Court on Wednesday, February 12.
“Thankfully the seven year old girl is at a Jackson area hospital and is improving. We commend the paramedics and emergency medical technicians with EMServ Ambulance Service who responded, provided emergency care, and transported the child to South Central Regional Medical Center. In addition, the Trauma Team at SCRMC did a fabulous job with providing life-saving care prior to the child being life-flighted to the hospital in Jackson,” said Thigpen.