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Ceres Toddler Finds Gun, Shoots Self To Death
Weapon Left Unsecured In Home, Police Say
POSTED: 10:59 am PDT September 19,
2007
UPDATED: 7:49 pm PDT September 19,
2007
CERES, Calif. -- A Ceres toddler accidentally shot herself to death Wednesday using a handgun she found in her home, police say.The 2-year-old girl, Cruzita Arellano, was pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto.Police found two guns, a stolen ATV, methamphetamine and materials to make the drug inside the home.The child's father, 26-year-old Felix Arellano is on felony parole, and should not have been in possession of a gun in the first place, police said.Arellano was booked at the Stanislaus County Jail on charges of felony child endangerment, stolen property, possession of drugs, felony possession of a firearm and manslaughter. The manslaughter charge came because the child's death happened while a crime was in progress, as Arellano was violating parole.The child's mother, 24-year-old Christina Castrillo, was also booked at the jail on charges of felony child endangerment.The couple's other child, 2 months old, is in CPS custody and has been tested for exposure to drugs.Authorities said they received a call at 7:42 a.m. reporting a shooting at a home on Ninth Street.Sgt. Allen McKay of the Ceres Police Department said the child managed to find a medium-caliber handgun that was left unsecured in the home.
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