Dad charged in case of boy, 4, fatally shot

The District Attorney today approved criminal charges against the father of 4-year-old Dyshon Boyd, who accidentally shot and killed himself Monday in Southwest Philadelphia.

Djuan Boyd, 24, a convicted gun felon with multiple drug-dealing arrests, will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, various counts of illegal gun possession, and endangering the welfare of a child, said Cathie Abookire, spokeswoman for District Attorney Lynne Abraham.

The father, whose birthday was last Wednesday, has a pending drug-dealing case that is listed for trial next month.

In 2004, he pleaded guilty to carrying a gun without a license and drug dealing, and was sentenced to 11-23 months in county prison, court records show.

Dyshon shot himself in the neck with a .40-cal. handgun inside his grandmother's rowhouse in the 1900 block of South Salford Street about 4:45 p.m., police said. He was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and pronounced dead at 5:32 p.m.

Investigators questioned Djuan Boyd extensively last night about the gun, which was discovered outside. Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said the father apparently tossed the gun from a window.

Johnson said the father reported that the gun had been in his coat and that his son found it there.

"We have to send a message out to Philadelphia that guns are dangerous. If you have firearms, you can't leave them in an unprotected place," Johnson said.

The gun's ammunition magazine was missing and the search for it in the area included a fire crew helping to search rooftops on the block. The magazine has yet to be found, Johnson said.

A woman answering the door at the home declined to comment this morning.