LA PLATA, Md. (WUSA9) -- Last summer, police in Charles County started investigating a case that gained national attention. Investigators say 3-year-old, Ji'Aire Lee, died after his mother stood outside pushing him in park swing for two days. 

His mother, Romechia Simms, is charged with child abuse and faces decades behind bars. But as she prepares for trial - her mother and Lee's grandmother - Vontasha Simms - is trying to make sure her grandson isn't forgotten.

"I'm not going to allow him to go in vain. So that's what keeps me going. It's not easy," Vontasha Simms said. "He was my everything."

Simms is calling on lawmakers to pass House Bill 574. It's a bill supporters say protects adults with mental illness and their children - by ensuring someone in a mental health crisis can get help. 

The bill is only three pages, but for Simms it represents so much more. 

The man was transported to a nearby hospital after he was shot with non-life threatening injuries, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office said. 

The sheriff's deputy, a K9 officer, saw the man after a confrontation between a person in a car and a person on foot near Post Office Road and St. Charles Parkway, the sheriff's office says. The man on foot was apparently trying to open the car door when he began to run away from the deputy, the spokesperson said. 

While chasing the suspect, the deputy gave the man several commands, which authorities say he ignored. Instead, the man allegedly reached into his waistband, at which point the deputy fired his weapon out of fear for his life, the sheriff's office says.

The man was hit twice by the sheriff's deputy. A handgun was found in the subject's waistband, the sheriff's office says. 

WALDORF, Md. (WUSA9) -- A two-year-old boy shot himself in the leg while his father was sleeping, the Charles County Sheriff's Office said.  

The father woke up once he heard the gunshot and contacted emergency personnel, the sheriff's office said. 

According to authorities, the boy was conscious and alert when he was taken to a local hospital.   

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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