A 19-year-old man was arrested Wednesday night after he told police he hid the gun used in a 6-year-old’s shooting death at an Old East Dallas home.
Officers responded about 2:40 p.m. Wednesday to a townhome complex in the 2100 block of North Fitzhugh Avenue, near Fuqua Street.
The child was found shot and taken to a hospital in critical condition. She was pronounced dead at 3:21 p.m. The Dallas County medical examiner’s office identified her as Aylayna Ross.
Detectives determined the handgun used in Ross’ death was left unsecured in the residence and that two adults and two other juveniles were inside the home when the shooting occurred, police said.
As of Thursday afternoon, police said it was “unknown how the child was shot.”
Damariya Sowels, 19, was booked into the Dallas County jail hours after the shooting on a charge of tampering with physical evidence, records show.
According to an arrest-warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News, Sowels admitted he brought two guns — a MAC-10 and a Glock — into the home Tuesday and left one lying on top of a PlayStation in a third-floor bedroom.
After the shooting, police wrote Sowels went into the bedroom and put both guns in a backpack. He hid the backpack in the garage before police arrived, the affidavit said, where it was later found by crime scene personnel.
Sowels is also facing unrelated charges of evading arrest or detention and unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to jail records.
He remained in custody Thursday, with bail set at $104,000. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
The investigation is ongoing.