Police: Conway mother left loaded gun around children, 2-year-old shot

A Horry County woman faces charges for leaving a loaded gun around children resulting in 2-year-old getting shot, police say.

Holly Dew, 24, and Randi Session, 23, both of Conway, were arrested on Friday during a traffic stop in New York after the child was found with a gunshot wound sustained while in South Carolina and it had not received medical attention.

Drew initially told Horry County police she would meet with officers at a local shopping complex after a witness reported the incident on Thursday. But, she didn't show up.

Warrants for Dew's arrest, released by Horry County police, accuse the mother of leaving a loaded handgun out around her three children. The warrants say one minor shot the 2-year-old.

New York State Police took the child to the hospital, where he is in stable condition, according to multiple news reports.

Dew faces three counts of unlawful conduct toward a child in Horry County. Spokeswoman Krystal Dotson said in an email that Dew is still in custody in New York.

"Upon her extradition to Horry County she will be charged with Unlawful Conduct Towards a Child. At this time it is unknown when she will arrive in Horry County," Dotson said.

Horry County police were approached Thursday by a manager at the Speedway gas station on Highway 544 who said another employee came to the store and was crying, according to an incident report. The employee, listed as a suspect in the report, allegedly told the manager that her son had removed a gun from a gun safe and shot himself overnight, the report said.

The mother reportedly showed the injuries to the manager, which were below the child's diaper and lower leg and described as two marks with skin missing, police said.

Officers then responded to Dew's address that was associated with prior incident reports, but the residence was vacant, police said.

Neighbors told officers they heard a gunshot about 1 a.m., the report said.

Police then called the woman's cell phone and she answered, the report said. She told police she was in Myrtle Beach and police asked to meet with her to verify the child was safe, according to the report.

The suspect said she should be home in one hour, and police said they could have someone meet her to verify the child was safe, the report said. But the suspect wouldn't agree, police said.

She then told police to meet her at Tanger Outlets, but police were unable to find the suspect or her vehicle.

The incident is still under investigation.

Hannah Strong: 843-444-1765, @HannahLStrong

This story was originally published April 9, 2018 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Police: Conway mother left loaded gun around children, 2-year-old shot."