Father pleads guilty to accidentally shooting his two-year-old daughter

A Baltimore father has pleaded guilty to two counts in connection with the death of his 2-year-old daughter in December 2023, prosecutors announced Friday.

Christopher Gamble is serving a 20-year prison sentence, with 10 years suspended and the first five years non-parole. He is charged with manslaughter and use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime after leaving an unsecured, illegal firearm in the presence of his daughter. The girl accidentally shot herself with the “ghost gun,” according to Gamble's statement to police.

“This is a devastating case that illustrates the terrible consequences of improper storage and illegal possession of firearms. Today's guilty plea and conviction are a sobering reminder of the devastating impact that illegal handguns have had on our great city,” said District Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “Leaving an unsecured, illegal firearm within reach of a child is an act of gross negligence that resulted in a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy.”

On December 17, 2023, Gamble arrived at Sinai Hospital and dropped off his daughter, Charlee, who had a gunshot wound to the head. He left his daughter with hospital staff and picked up the victim's mother to take her to the hospital. Afterward, he stayed with police.

Surveillance video from Gamble's apartment complex showed Gamble running to his car with his daughter bleeding heavily in his arms.

Additional video evidence showed Gamble stopping to throw something into a sewer on Clover Road during his second hospital stay. Investigators found a handgun there, and forensic testing matched the shell casing in the handgun to a bullet found at the crime scene.

The victim's mother told police that on the way to the hospital, Gamble kept saying it was his fault and that he wanted to die.