Byron Dobbins, 24, was taken into custody on Wednesday in connection to a shooting in Birmingham that involved a 3-year-old child. The incident took place on February 18th in an apartment complex located in the 600 block of Brussels Circle. Police have charged Dobbins with 1st degree assault and are holding him in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
Initially police believed that the toddler had found the gun and accidentally shot himself in the abdomen. However, evidence now points to the possibility that the child was shot by someone else. “Investigators mentioned the doctor said there no marks on the child’s skin at all, so obviously, the weapon had to be away from the child,” Lieutenant Sean Edwards of the Birmingham Police Department said.
The toddler is in stable condition after undergoing successful surgery.
Investigators confirm that Dobbins is the owner of the gun which was hidden between two couch cushions at the apartment home. Birmingham police officers searched for Dobbins in connection to the shooting and questioned Elsie Wilson, Dobbins’ mother, and Darshay Jones, Dobbins’ girlfriend. The two were adamant that they had not heard from Dobbins and were unaware of his location. However, Byron Dobbins was seen the following day getting into a car with his girlfriend and his mother. Police arrested all three of them on February 20thand charged Jones and Wilson with hindering prosecution.