http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3963779

Family of Slain Man Questions Toddler's Trigger Finger

Single Gunshot Kills Aspiring Georgia Rapper; Cops Say a Child May Be to Blame

By DAVID SCHOETZ
Dec. 6, 2007 —

A toddler playing inside a Georgia recording studio picked up a handgun lying on a table and shot a 22-year-old aspiring rap artist in the forehead, killing him.

That's the scenario police in Brunswick, Ga., believe played out Tuesday night, according to friends and family members of Curtis Gabriel Collins, who spoke to ABC News.

While the Brunswick Police Department continued to investigate the shooting, the family expressed significant doubts as to whether a child not yet 3 years old could have pulled the trigger

"I do not believe that a 2-year-old boy can pick up a gun and shoot him in the head," Barbara Rhett, Collins' grandmother, told ABC News.

Brunswick Police Chief Edna Johnson told ABC News' Memphis affiliate WPTY that she considered the incident a lesson in gun safety. "Obviously, someone wasn't watching and the child was able to play with the gun and the gun discharged," Johnson said. She did not say what kind of weapon killed Collins or who owned it, although she did say the gun did not belong to Collins.

Family members told ABC News the gun used was a 22-caliber handgun.

Police have said little else about what happened inside Gutter Entertainment Studio. The Brunswick News, citing police sources, said that Collins, also known as "C-real," was sitting on a sofa when he was shot. [color="Blue"](C-Real be D-ead)

Police have not said how many adults were at the studio at the time of the shooting, and have not identified the child who may have pulled the trigger.

Collins survived a shooting in October in which he was hit twice in the chest, once in the stomach and once in the leg. No one has been arrested in connection with that shooting; family members said they didn't know whether police believe the two shootings are related.

The lack of information has been particularly frustrating to Collins' family and friends.

"They're not saying anything," Rhett said. "I just think it's wrong, and something needs to be done about it. I think the person who was responsible for that gun needs to say something about it."

Jimmy Durden, the Glynn County coroner, told ABC News that Collins died from a single gunshot would to the forehead. Brunswick police now have to provide the medical examiner with additional information so the shooting can be ruled either an accidental death or an intentional homicide.

"They're testing the gun to see if a child at that age could pull the trigger," Durden said. "It hasn't been ruled a homicide, and it hasn't been ruled accidental."

Investigators will also look at the toddler to see if there's gunpowder residue on the child's hands. Even if evidence from child was left on the gun, Durden said, there's always a chance that a person may have used their own hands to cause the child to pull the trigger.

Lacking formal information from police, family and friends said they have been forced to speculate on what happened inside the studio and rely on a rumor mill that has been spinning since Tuesday night.

According to family members, one unconfirmed story circulating is that the other people in the studio had their backs turned when the child picked up the weapon and fired at Collins. Another possibility is that the child knocked the gun from the table, causing it to accidentally go off, while in a third scenario the child might have confused the real gun for a toy the child had played with earlier in the day.

Some are considering more violent scenarios. Collins' first cousin Tammie Miller told ABC News that she believes Collins was held down while someone else guided the child to pull the trigger. "I believe it was a set up," she said.

Collins, was described by family and friends as a musician who enjoyed beating drums at his local church. [color="Blue"](:hflol)

While he had been in trouble in the past, on a drug dealing offense, his grandmother said that he had recently begun to clean up his life and that his love of music had sharpened his life focus.

His fiancee Valas Thorpe, who is seven months pregnant with Collins' child, said the same. Thorpe said that Collins was in high spirits when he left her to go to the studio Tuesday, telling her he loved her.

"The way Curtis was, he didn't consider anybody his enemy," Valas said. "The way he presented himself, he's laughing and joking. When it comes to music, he's serious."