Father of boy, 4, faces charges over gun death

The district attorney yesterday 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, was 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 M. Abraham.

Boyd has a drug-dealing case 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 to 23 months in county prison, court records show.

Dyshon shot himself in the neck with a .40-caliber handgun in 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 Boyd extensively Monday night about the gun, which was discovered outside. Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said the father apparently had tossed it from a window.

Johnson said Boyd had reported that the gun was in his coat, and that his son found it there.

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

The gun's ammunition magazine was missing, and the search for it included a check of rooftops on the block with the help of a fire crew. The magazine had not been found, Johnson said.

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

To view Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson's news conference regarding the charges file in this case, visit http://go.philly.com/gunEndText