Adults jailed in connection with Wash. boy's shooting death

TACOMA, Wash. -- The mother of a 3-year-old boy who shot and killed himself at a Tacoma gas station with a gun he found in the family car has been booked into jail in connection the child's death.

The man who owned the weapon has also been arrested.

Pierce County Jail records show Jahnisha R. McIntosh and Eric B. Vita were booked Tuesday night for investigation of second-degree manslaughter.

Investigators say McIntosh's son, Julio Segura-McIntosh, shot himself in the head with Vita's handgun after Vita and McIntosh stopped for gas in Tacoma on March 14.

Vita's attorney, David Gehrke, said his client turned himself in to Tacoma police after investigators told him he would be facing charges.

Gehrke said Vita left his gun under his seat when he got out to pump gas and Julio found the weapon. McIntosh took the gun away from the boy and told him not to play with it before placing it under her seat and going into the convenience store, Gehrke said.

Julio apparently again got the weapon from under the seat, and then shot himself. The boy's infant sister, who also was in the car when the gun went off, was not injured.

Vita has a concealed weapons permit and Gehrke said store clerks had previously become alarmed when they saw him with his holstered gun, so this time he decided to leave it behind.

"This was a horrific tragedy," Gehrke said. "Everybody involved is still shocked... and feels horrible about it."

Washington does not have a law specifically concerning child access to firearms, however state law is very specific about carrying loaded pistols in vehicles.

A person with a concealed weapons permit may carry a gun in a car in Washington state, but they are required to have it on their person. If they have to leave behind in the car, the law says it must be locked and concealed from view.

Vita and McIntosh are scheduled to make their first court appearance later Wednesday.