ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida couple was arrested after their four-year-old twins accidentally shot themselves with a handgun they discovered under a couch cushion — a weapon their mother allegedly left unsecured following a night of drinking.
Keishara Goodrum, 39, and Maurice Wayne Bright Jr., 40, were taken into custody Saturday after both children suffered critical gunshot wounds in their Orlando home, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. One of the boys was shot in the arm, while the other sustained a serious wound to the torso.
Police say Goodrum told investigators she had been drinking heavily the night before and placed the loaded handgun under a couch cushion in the living room because she was not wearing clothing with a waistband, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Post. The next morning, as the parents were moving around the house, a gunshot rang out.
Goodrum, who was preparing breakfast for her five children, discovered one of the boys had been shot and rushed him to the hospital. During the drive, the parents realized the other twin had also been injured. Both children were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where they remain in critical but stable condition.
Authorities also recovered three additional firearms inside the home. Goodrum faces two counts of child neglect resulting in great bodily harm, while Bright was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has taken custody of the family’s children. Both parents are being held on $10,000 bonds, WFTV reported.