Tasha Dillard Sentenced After 4-Year-Old Finds Her Gun and Fatally Shoots 7-Year-Old Davion Gunter in Wichita, Kansas [PHOTOS]

Wichita, Kansas – A Kansas woman has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after a tragic shooting in which a 4-year-old boy found her loaded gun and fatally shot 7-year-old Davion Gunter.

On October 16, Tasha Dillard, 25, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and six counts of aggravated child endangerment, according to local media outlets KWCH, KAKE, and The Wichita Eagle.

The fatal shooting occurred in the early hours of March 16 at Dillard’s apartment in the Planeview neighborhood of Wichita. Court documents show that Dillard had been drinking tequila shots with friends in her parked car outside while several young children remained inside her home unsupervised.

According to investigators, while the adults were outside, a 4-year-old child discovered Dillard’s loaded handgun — reportedly left unattended in her purse on the kitchen counter — and accidentally discharged it. The bullet struck Davion Gunter in the upper torso. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died from his injuries.

Tasha Dillard Sentenced After 4-Year-Old Finds Her Gun and Fatally Shoots 7-Year-Old Davion Gunter in Wichita, Kansas

The 4-year-old later told police that the children had been “playing guns” and that he thought the firearm was a toy. Other children at the scene confirmed they had been playing with an orange toy gun earlier that night, possibly confusing it with the real weapon.

Witnesses told police they knew Dillard had purchased a gun weeks before the shooting. Initially, she denied owning a firearm but later admitted to having one, stating she kept it “behind her purse” on the counter. She also said the weapon was left out after one of her friends used it to record a video for social media.

Prosecutors said Dillard’s actions constituted criminal negligence, given the combination of alcohol use, unsupervised minors, and unsecured firearm access.

During her sentencing hearing, Dillard tearfully apologized, telling the court, “I never intended for anybody to get hurt. I wish I had never been outside that night.”

In a remarkable moment of compassion, Ataya Johnson, the victim’s mother — and a close friend of Dillard — asked the judge for leniency. Johnson said she did not want her friend to go to prison, describing Dillard as “a really good person who wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

Johnson later wrote in a GoFundMe post that her son Davion “was taken from us too soon,” adding that the 7-year-old “brought so much joy to everyone around him, and his vibrant spirit will be deeply missed.”