Father faces charges after child accidentally shot by ghost gun in Merced

Authorities said the tragic death of a young child in Merced appears to be the result of the child finding an unsecured ghost gun at the residence.

The Merced County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges of felony child abuse with enhancements and misdemeanor possession of a firearm with identification numbers removed against 20-year-old Zaquan Woodard in what authorities say was the accidental shooting death of his 2-year-old daughter.

The firearm involved in the tragic death was an unregistered illegal “ghost gun,” police said. According to the United States Department of Justice, ghost guns are firearms that are often assembled from kits. The parts do not contain serial numbers and are sold without background checks. Authorities said this makes such firearms difficult to trace.

Merced police officers responded to the residence in the 1100 block of B Street at 4:18 p.m. on Nov. 22, for a report of a gunshot wound. According to a Merced Police Department incident report, it appears a neighbor who heard the gunshot assisted in providing medical aid to the child before paramedics arrived on scene.

Officers at the scene retrieved the firearm from a closet after they spoke to Woodward.

Police reports indicate the child’s parents were home at the time of the incident and the three of them were in a bedroom when the firearm discharged. The reports indicated that the parents said they were lying in bed when the gun discharged and Woodard ran to check on his daughter while the child’s mother ran outside to get help.

The toddler was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Merced and ultimately pronounced deceased just after 5 p.m..

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merced Police Detective Edwin Aries at 209-388-7826 or by email at ariase@cityofmerced.org.