Mother Not Charged by District Attorney

The Shelby County District Attorney General's office has declined to file immediate charges in the case of a fire that left one young boy dead and another critically injured after they were left alone in a duplex.

Fire officials said the boys' mother had gone shopping when the blaze broke out around 3 p.m. Monday.

Police said in a news release on Tuesday that 3-year-old Ladareon Dunn died and his 2-year-old brother was in critical condition at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center.

Investigators said the children were locked inside the house alone and that their mother had left to run errands and didn't know about the fire until after the children were transported to the hospital.

**UPDATE**

Wednesday morning the Shelby County District Attorney's office released the following statement:

"As District Attorney, I am very concerned for the welfare of the children in our community, and will prosecute anyone who victimizes a child. Regarding the deadly fire on Monday in which a three-year-old child was killed and a two-year-old child was seriously injured, it is our duty to review all of the facts, evidence and information, and once the entire investigation is completed, we will make a charging decision.

At this point, we are still waiting for pertinent information to this investigation. It would not be appropriate to make a decision to charge the mother or anyone else in this case without having all of the facts. Once we get the complete investigation from the Memphis Police Department, Memphis Fire Department and the Shelby County Medical Examiner we will act quickly to determine the appropriate course of action to take in this case."

Bill Gibbons
Shelby County District Attorney General