A 7-year-old’s mother and another woman have been arrested for reportedly aiding in trying to redirect blame away from her son after he shot his aunt twice.
Angela Gibson, 29, of the 400 block of Pero Church Road in Minden, was charged with obstruction of justice Tuesday when Webster Parish Sheriff’s investigators discovered she lied to them the day of the shooting.
Cheryl Eaton Lee, 64, of the 200 block of Rositter St. in Shreveport, was also charged with obstruction of justice Wednesday when investigators learned she lied to them about what happened the day of the shooting.
Angela Gibson’s sister, Amanda Gibson, was shot twice Friday by her 7-year-old nephew when he retrieved a .22 lever action shotgun from a gun safe and shot at her following a dispute over food. Sheriff Gary Sexton said the boy shot at Amanda Gibson four times, hitting her twice. She was airlifted to a Shreveport hospital for treatment. Investigators say she was either released Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
Det. Scott Tucker, in his report, said Angela Gibson was on the phone with her sister at the time of the shooting and could hear her saying, “No, don’t,” and then heard her say, “He shot me, and he shot me again.”
Instead of hanging up and calling 911, Angela Gibson admitted to investigators she called her mother and Lee.
“Angela stated she did call her sister back several times to check on her,” according to the report.
Phone logs from Angela Gibson’s phone show the first shots were fired at approximately 1:20 p.m., but it wasn’t until 2:33 p.m. when 911 was called.
Tucker said Angela Gibson admitted that she knew the shooting was not an accident as she’d relayed to 911 dispatchers and deputies at the scene.
Reports say Lee knew that Amanda Gibson was shot by her nephew around 1:10 p.m., and did not call 911 or tell investigators the truth of the incident.
“Lee also admitted she knew of past incidents of the child shooting but did not disclose that to law enforcement either,” Tucker said in his report.
This is not Angela Gibson’s first time to be accused of obstruction. She arrested in May 2011 on charges of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and theft of a firearm after she and her then-boyfriend led officers in several parishes on a high speed chase following an armed robbery of a store in Haughton, according to authorities.
In December 2011, Angela Gibson pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. She was given a three-year suspended sentence and placed on probation for three years. In 2013, she received an automatic first-offender pardon after completing conditions of her sentence.
Angela Gibson’s father, Billy Gibson, 79, was the first to be arrested and he was charged with felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
“The child was unsupervised and with the behavioral problems the child has, and he had access to firearms and ammunition, that was the deciding factor,” Sexton said. “We went out to the residence, and there were numerous bullet holes in the residence, and it was admitted to us the child was shooting this gun unsupervised.”
Sexton said the boy has anger and behavioral issues, and he should not have had access to any firearms or ammunition. Even though the law states a child his age cannot form intent, the sheriff disagrees, saying the child intended to shoot Amanda Gibson.
“He shot at her four times,” he said. “He had to eject the shell and then load it again.”
The Department of Children and Family Services has been contacted and brought in for the boy.
Billy Gibson, Angela Gibson and Lee were all transported to Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center for booking.
Sexton said charges are pending against Amanda Gibson.