Trigger Warning: Child Neglect
Man Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse, Reckless Endangerment After 3-Year-Old Shot Herself with Unattended, Loaded Firearm
NORFOLK, Va. — Kirk Morris Bond Jr., 24, pleaded guilty last month to child abuse and neglect as well as recklessly allowing a child access to a loaded firearm after he left within his young daughter’s reach an unsecured firearm, with which she accidentally shot herself earlier this year.
On the night of July 17, Mr. Bond left his firearm sitting out and within his 3-year-old’s reach as he stepped away to use the bathroom. While he was in the bathroom, the 3-year-old grabbed the gun and shot it, causing a through-and-through injury to the palm of her hand. Mr. Bond and his daughter were the only ones home at the time. In the early morning hours of July 18, Mr. Bond took his daughter to the Children’ Hospital of the King’s Daughters, where she received reconstructive surgery for the non-life-threatening wound.
After the child’s mother arrived at the hospital while she was in surgery, Mr. Bond returned to his residence and put the gun away on a closet shelf that would have been out of the child’s reach. Having been alerted to the walk-in gunshot victim by hospital staff, Norfolk Police investigators went to Mr. Bond’s residence, and Mr. Bond claimed that his daughter had been hit by a stray bullet that came through a window. The investigators found no holes in the windows or window treatments but did find damage resembling a gunshot to a bedroom door. When police found the gun in the closet, it was smeared with the child’s blood, it was still loaded with a magazine, and it had not been secured in a locked box.
On Oct. 27, Mr. Bond entered an agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to child abuse and neglect (a felony) as well as recklessly allowing access to a loaded, unsecured firearm by children (a misdemeanor). In exchange for Mr. Bond’s guilty pleas, the Commonwealth withdrew two additional felony firearm charges against Mr. Bond. There was no agreement as to the sentence Mr. Bond will face. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Bond’s plea agreement, found him guilty of his two charges, and set his sentencing hearing on Feb. 6, 2026.
“We are fortunate that Mr. Bond’s daughter is alive and recovering from her injury. Under slightly different circumstances, she could have died,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “While Mr. Bond should have secured his gun and did not, which is a misdemeanor, his delay in seeking medical attention for his daughter elevated his crime to a felony, and his lying and covering up the facts made things worse. Had he sought prompt medical attention and told the truth, everything would have gone better. My best wishes to the victim as she recovers from her injury.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jessica L. Terkovich is prosecuting Mr. Bond’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Neal G. Crowder led the investigation.
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