Overview

• Police say 3-year-old Cartier Smith died after unintentionally shooting himself inside a Southeast Side apartment Monday morning.
• His mother, Carley Dials, 29, was arrested on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
• Investigators report Dials found a handgun on the bedroom floor around 3 a.m., placed it between the mattress and the wall, and the child later located it and was fatally wounded.
• Sean Perrin, 31, who police say brought the gun, was arrested in the Hilltop neighborhood and charged with having a weapon under disability after fleeing the scene, and he had an active warrant tied to a probation violation.
• Both defendants are scheduled for Tuesday morning court appearances, and CDC data identify unintentional firearm injury as a leading cause of death for U.S. children with most such incidents occurring at home.