MEMPHIS, Tenn. — According to the affidavit from Memphis Police, Leo Benton was with his girlfriend and her daughter Monday night watching TV when the mother said he jumped up with his gun in his hand, "smirked and laughed," then shot the 7-year-old in the head.
The 32-year-old Benton faces several charges, including attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Residents who spoke with ABC24 Tuesday still can’t believe it.
“For somebody, some devil, like whoever did that, to shoot that baby, my heart is gone,” said Joyce Stokes.
MPD officers responded to the scene on Fox Meadows Road near Winchester Monday night, where they found the girl shot.
“It’s horrible,” said Elizabeth Bliffen, who lives up the street. “I actually have a daughter who is four years old, and it makes me think something could happen to her like that.”
Paramedics took the child to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in critical condition.
Stokes knows this pain all too well. She lost her daughter Cateria during a drive-by shooting in 2015.
“It’s just hurtful,” she said. “It’s just hurtful for any parent to lose their children. It hurts too bad.”
The affidavit states that Benton has been the mother’s boyfriend since 2017.
“That this could happen so close to home is scary and really saddening for the family,” Bliffen said.
As of July 21, a Le Bonheur spokesperson said 105 children have been treated so far for gunshot wounds in 2023. That number is on pace to possibly surpass the record of 158 children treated in 2021.