Ten-Year-Old Dies After Being Shot in Head by Pellet Gun, Teen Arrested

A 10-year-old Georgia boy has died after being shot in the head with a pellet gun.

The child, CJ Patton, was shot at his home in the city of Milledgeville on February 20 by a friend—17-year-old Jamarius Walls, police said, according to WSBTV. Patton died three days later at a hospital in Atlanta.

Last Thursday, Walls was taken into custody by deputies and members of the U.S. Marshals' Southeast Regional Task Force.

The 17-year-old has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, the Associated Press reported.

In a GoFundMe page set up to aid the family, the organizer, Brittany Matheny, said the shooting was accidental.

"This [page] has been created for some very special friends of mine as they have been forced to face every parents worst nightmare," Matheny said.

While they may seem like toys, BB and pellet guns are responsible for thousands of accidental injuries every year in the United States.

These guns fire their projectiles at high speed and are capable of causing permanent eye injuries and leaving deep puncture wounds. In some cases, injuries caused by these guns can even result in death.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that around 30,000 people are injured by BB and pellet guns annually in the country.

According to the GoFundMe, the pellet became lodged in Patton's brain, entering through the right side of his temple.

Patton was rushed to a hospital in Milledgeville where doctors determined that he had suffered "severe brain damage" from the pellet and was showing no brain activity.

The boy was later airlifted to Children's Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta where he was placed on a ventilator. But doctors were unable to save him.

"It breaks my heart to have to say that CJ has gone home to heaven. He passed away yesterday morning around 10:30 a.m.," Matheny said in an update posted to the GoFundMe page posted on February 24.

The organizer urged people to donate to the fundraiser to help pay for the family's funeral expenses. At the time of writing, more than $2,800 has been raised, with a goal of $15,000 set.

"I know that these are some trying times, but I'm asking that we come together as a community and as family and friends to help Robin give her baby a funeral that he deserves," Matheny wrote. "Nobody was prepared for this day whatsoever, let alone the high costs of a funeral."

"As a mother she is already having to endure the most heart breaking situation a mother would ever have to go through and my hopes are to take this financial burden off of her completely, be able to focus on putting her son to rest and learning to cope with everyday life all over again."