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911 Call Released, Autopsy Complete On Toddler Fatally Shot In Ocoee

POSTED: 11:44 am EDT March 11, 2008
UPDATED: 5:25 pm EDT March 11, 2008

A 911 call gives a picture of just how frantic things were after a 23-month-old boy shot himself with his father's gun. Detectives are still waiting for the details of the Medical Examiner's report, such as whether there was gun residue on the toddler's hands or fingers. The autopsy is complete, but the report is not finished and that will determine the exact cause of death.


911 CALL: Grandmother Calls 911 After Toddler Shot

The 911 call came from an Ocoee house on Keaton Parkway early Sunday morning. The panic and confusion could be heard in 23-month-old Tyler Rodgers' grandmother's voice as she tried to get help for her grandchild.

"They came and woke me up, I don't know what's going on," she told the 911 dispatcher.

"How old is the baby?" the dispatcher asked.

"He's two," she said.

The operator tried to calm down the grandmother to find out if Tyler is breathing. Police said, in a state of panic and effort to get help for the toddler, the family took the boy outside.

"I can't go out there, I don't want to see," the child's grandmother told the dispatcher.

It's been a challenge for investigators because the scene was not intact. The toddler was not where the shooting happened and the gun had also been moved.

"Can you please tell me who has the weapon?" the dispatcher asked.

"They want to know who's got the gun, where's the gun?" the woman yelled out.

Within four to five minutes, paramedics and police were on the scene and a devastated grandmother hung up the phone.

"I've got to call my momma," she told the dispatcher.

Channel 9 has learned Tyler's father, Dontavious Rodgers, was convicted in 2003 on felony drug charges and, because of that conviction, he's legally not allowed to own a firearm. It is also illegal for a gun to be kept in the reach of a minor. Police say the gun was not stolen and it not registered, which is not required in the state of Florida.

Sunday night, police arrested Rodgers for outstanding warrants on two child support cases, but so far no arrests have come in Tyler's death. Rodgers' arrest record is long and includes charges of aggravated battery on a pregnant person.



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