A Durham mother facing serious charges after her son accidentally shot himself faced a judge on Tuesday.

Assante Moore was charged with felony child abuse with serious bodily injury and misdemeanor permitting a child to use a firearm.

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Moore had her first appearance at 8:45 a.m. in Durham County Court.

She told the judge she wanted to sign a waiver, forgoing her right to a court-appointed attorney.

Moore told the judge she will hire a private attorney to represent her on the felony child abuse and misdemeanor firearm charges. Moore's criminal history shows the majority of her past cases are speeding and driving-related.

Her next court date will be Jan. 20.

Examining the charges

This shooting comes just two weeks after another 4-year-old boy in Durham accidentally shot himself at a home on Linwood Avenue. The gun owner in that case, Patrick Daye, was charged.  

Attorney Daniel Meier explained some of the details around why Moore was charged with child abuse. 

"If the person is either a parent, guardian, or caregiver of the child, and is also negligent and the child is hurt, then they can be charged with child abuse," Meier said. "But you have to be a caregiver, so the fact that the victim is a child, if it's a stranger, you're at somebody's house, but you're not watching the kid, you can't be charged with child abuse."

Meier said prosecutors have discretion on what charges to bring, and we are seeing more serious charges in recent years.

"A lot of it was that shooting up in Michigan where they put the parents on trial,” Meier said. “I think that's kind of what changed the perspective."

Durham Police arrived at the home around 7:30 a.m. to find Moore's four-year-old son had shot himself with an unsecured gun.

Police were on that scene for 10 hours yesterday and were seen bringing bags of evidence out of the home.

That four-year-old boy had serious injuries. At last update, Durham police said he is in the hospital.

WRAL's documentary UnSafe: North Carolina kids dying from gun violence uncovers why North Carolina children are 51% more likely to die from gun violence.