LAPLACE — The Sheriff’s Office is waiting on official autopsy results in the shooting death of a 5-year-old LaPlace girl before turning over their investigative results to the District Attorney’s Office.

Haley Moore shot herself one time May 21 with a .45 caliber handgun on the right side of her chest area, according to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities were alerted to the shooting at 9:44 a.m. when the girl’s father, Eric Moore, called 911. Haley was still alive when rushed from the scene by emergency medical services and later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, police said.

“Based on my experience, the autopsy should be the last step in the investigation,” Tregre said Friday morning. “That’s the last thing we’re waiting on. We’re going to consult the District Attorney even after we get the autopsy report as to whether arrests should be made.”

A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the autopsy report could take three to eight weeks to complete. Authorities described the handgun used in the shooting as unsecured in the residence. According to an incident report filed at the Sheriff’s Office, Eric Moore and a friend, who was at his house the day before the shooting, described different chain of events as to how the weapon came to be unsecured.

In the wake of Moore’s tragic death, the Sheriff’s Office said increased attention is being paid to the importance of teaching children that a gun is not a toy and pulling the trigger could be deadly.

To educate children about the potential dangers of guns, the St. John Sheriff’s Office arranged for Sgt. Denise Bertrand to lead a special program on gun safety May 26 at Garden of Eden Christian Learning Center in LaPlace, the school Haley attended.
Bertrand talked to the children about what to do if they find a gun, encouraging them not to touch the gun, leave the area where the gun is and tell a grown up right away.