Cleveland County Parents Accused Of Shooting 2-Year-Old Son

SHELBY, N.C. — Parents who said their 2-year-old son was the victim of a drive-by shooting have been arrested after detectives determined that they were responsible for the shooting, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

The shooting occurred at a Lawndale home on Mother’s Day, May 9, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Deputies said the boy was shot in the abdomen and rushed to a hospital in Shelby for emergency surgery to stabilize him before being flown to hospital in Charlotte.

The child is still hospitalized and recovering from his injuries, and the investigation is ongoing, the sheriff’s office says.

The child’s parents, Lucentio Clark, 38, and Tianna Lashae Jumper, 20, initially told investigators that they heard gunfire outside when the child was shot, according to the news release. The sheriff’s office said evidence recovered at the scene contradicted the parents’ statement, adding that it was apparent that a shot had been fired inside the home and another had been fired from outside the home to make it appear a drive-by shooting had occurred.

Both Clark and Jumper were charged with obstruction of justice as well as child abuse and neglect causing serious bodily injury. Clark also was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. It was not known if either of them has an attorney.

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