A Nashville teen has died after her mother accidentally shot her with an unholstered gun while she was digging through her purse to find her keys.
Dearria Radley Cooper, 13, was fatally shot Saturday evening at the Edgehill Avenue home she shared with her mother, De’Ann Radley.
Radley told police she had searched through her purse looking for her keys. She also kept a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the bag, which accidentally went off.
Officers from the Midtown Hills Precinct responded to a 911 call just before 10 p.m. and provided first aid to the 13-year-old before she was taken to the Vanderbilt Pediatric Emergency Department.
She died there from a single gunshot, police said.
Dearria Radley Cooper, 13, was shot to death in her Nashville home Saturday evening after an unholstered gun went off in her mother’s purse
Dearria’s mother, De’Ann Radley, told police she was looking for her keys when the gun accidentally went off. ‘Thirteen years and my baby is gone. I want my baby back,” she sobbed in a video uploaded the day after her daughter’s death
Police responded to a 911 call at 9:58 p.m. and provided aid to the teen before she was taken to the emergency room, where she later died
Radley left a series of messages on Facebook the day after her daughter’s death.
She also recorded a video of herself sitting in the backseat of a car with tears streaming down her face.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” she said between sobs. ‘No one, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. My baby, my baby is gone.”
‘Thirteen years. Thirteen years and my baby is gone. I want my baby back.
“We went through everything together and my baby was gone, my heart was gone.”
Among the photos she shared was an old photo of her holding and kissing baby Dearria.
“Hug your babies tight because I lost mine, words can’t describe this pain,” Radley wrote, referring to Dearria as “my twin, my heart.”
“My baby was so beautiful, God gave me the strength, I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone,” she continued. ‘My heart is in a million pieces. Bug, wake up, mommy needs you.
“Who’s going to tell me mom, it’s going to be okay and hug me and wipe my tears… Lieveria, I need you, I can’t do this.”
The high school student, called “Bug” by her family, died from a single shot from a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol
“Hug your babies tight because I lost mine, words can’t describe this pain,” Radley wrote on Facebook the day after Dearria’s death
Grandmother Irish Radley asked for prayers for the family, writing that her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest
It is unclear whether Radley will be charged in connection with her daughter’s death as no charges have yet been filed
Dearria’s grandmother, Irish Radley, took to Facebook with a post of her own.
“My heart feels like it has been ripped out of my chest,” she wrote a day after the high school student’s death.
“Please say a prayer for my family, we are working on it right now, my oldest grandbaby passed away last night.”
She concluded with a message to her granddaughter: “Grandma loves you, Bug.”
On Sunday, Radley set one GoFundMe to cover her daughter’s funeral costs.
“My 13-year-old was accidentally shot and killed. I don’t have insurance to bury her. If anyone can help me during these painful times, I would appreciate your contribution,” she wrote.
No charges have currently been filed in connection with Dearria’s death, police said. That of the department The Youth Services Department is leading an investigation, which is still ongoing.
In Tennessee, gun buyers are issued a firearms lock at the time of purchase.
However, a new law that went into effect last November requires Tennessee’s Department of Safety to provide gun owners with locks upon request, regardless of purchase.
