Parents arrested, face child abuse charges after 4-year-old dies from self-inflicted gunshot

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The parents of the young boy who died Tuesday afternoon are in custody and face child abuse charges.

At 12:30 p.m., Manitou Springs Police were dispatched to the 400 block of Manitou Avenue on a report of a shot being fired. At the scene, officers found a 4-year-old child dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit was asked to lead the investigation. According to the sheriff's office, the 4-year-old was with his mother and a younger sibling in a vehicle while his father went into Maggie's Farm, a marijuana dispensary.

That's when the child discovered a gun and shot himself. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities arrested the 4-year-old's parents, Ashlynne Perez, 25, and Carlos Perez, 26.

They were both booked into the El Paso County Jail for the charge of Criminally Negligent Child Abuse Resulting in Death.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office asks parents to talk to their children about firearms, even if they don't own any. The sheriff's office says guns should be stored unloaded and locked up, with all keys hidden.