KC toddler shot herself with unattended gun; man charged with child endangerment
A Kansas City man is facing a child endangerment charge in Jackson County after a toddler allegedly shot herself with an unattended firearm.
Syncere Taylor, 19, faces one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to a news release from Jazzlyn Johnson, director of communications for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. The felony charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
On Monday, Sugar Creek police responded to a residence after reports of a possible suicide attempt, according to a probable cause statement in support of Taylor’s arrest.
There, officers found Taylor at the top of a driveway, the statement said. Taylor allegedly told officers that someone had been shot. He reportedly told an officer that the person with the firearm had left the residence before officers arrived.
In the bedroom, officers found a 3-year-old with a gunshot wound to her abdomen, according to the probable cause statement. She was taken to a hospital, and remains in stable condition.
Taylor’s girlfriend, who is the toddler’s mother, told investigators she had been cooking with the child next to her in the kitchen, the court document said. She said Taylor and another person were in another room.
The woman heard a “loud pop,” and she walked down the hallway to find the injured toddler lying on a bed, according to the probable cause statement. She said the third person then took the firearm and left the residence.
Taylor gave officers a similar statement, according to the court document. Investigators were unable to locate the person after searching the area.
In the residence, officers observed a “large bag of marijuana in plain view on the bed where the victim was lying,” the court document said. Taylor was detained and placed in the back of a patrol vehicle.
Following Taylor’s arrest, the girl’s mother contacted investigators and told them the firearm belonged to Taylor and was still inside the residence, according to the probable cause statement.
She contacted investigators a second time and told them she had initially given a false statement because Taylor had told her what to say; she was afraid of him, and knew he was out of jail on bond for another case, the court document said.
She believed Taylor had hidden the firearm inside the residence, or disposed of it, according to the probable cause statement.
In a search of the residence, investigators found a red and black backpack containing a semi-automatic, according to the probable cause statement. The pistol had one live round in its chamber, and officers found several loaded magazines.
A spent shell casing matching ammunition in the firearm was found in the bedroom, the court document said. A bullet entry hole was found in a mattress. Officers were able to trace the bullet’s trajectory across the hall into a bathroom wall.
In an interview with investigators, Taylor allegedly re-stated his initial account of events, claiming that another person present at the residence had taken the firearm, the court document said.
When investigators told Taylor they had found the firearm, he admitted his previous statement had been false, according to the probable cause statement.
Taylor told officers he was walking toward a bathroom when he heard a gunshot, the court document said. He and the child’s mother went to the bedroom, where they found the girl lying on the bed with a gunshot wound. He then allegedly took the pistol and placed it in his backpack before leaving the residence.
The man allegedly told investigators he had been borrowing the firearm “for his protection” because he had recently been shot at, and the gun was on the bed when the toddler was injured.
Taylor has three cases pending, one in Jackson County and two juvenile misdemeanor cases in Douglas County, Kansas, court records show. In the Jackson County case, he is accused of resisting arrest and first-degree property damage.
Johnson said Taylor is a client of SAVE KC, a community coalition that aims to move “individuals away from lives close to violence before it’s too late,” according to its website. The program offers support services and guidance.
Taylor was “previously warned about the consequences of criminal activity,” Johnson said, adding that the prosecutor’s office “is committed to ensuring he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
He is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 6:15 PM.
