Toddler points HANDGUN at himself and pulls trigger, father arrested

2023-01-15

Wild moment toddler waves loaded HANDGUN around, points it at himself and pulls the trigger while playing in a hallway before cops are called and his father arrested

A diaper-clad boy was seen playing with a loaded gun in an apartment hallway
Neighbors called police, who searched the boy’s father’s apartment
Authorities found a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun inside the apartment
The father was arrested, and the boy was brought to his mother’s home

Here is the terrifying moment a diaper-clad toddler plays with a loaded handgun in an apartment building hallway, and even points it at himself and pulls the trigger.

Neighbors who saw the boy last Saturday called police, and authorities arrived to search the apartment where he lived with his father.

A 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol was eventually found in the back of a desk drawer, and the father was arrested. Authorities said the father could be charged with child neglect. The boy was not harmed in the incident, as the bullets had not yet been chambered in the gun.

The footage was aired on On Patrol: Live, and commentators and viewers like expressed their horror at the close call.

The toddler could be seen wielding a handgun in the apartment building hallway

The boy’s father was arrested after the incident. The boy was taken to his mother’s home

In the clip, the young boy can be seen wearing a diaper and aimlessly wandering around the stairwell outside his closed apartment door and carrying the loaded pistol.

As he walked about, he could be seen pointing the gun at doors and in the air, and rapidly pulling the trigger as he went.

At one point he even pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger.

The incident took place in Beech Grove, Indiana, which is just outside of Indianapolis.

In the clip, the young boy can be seen wearing a diaper and aimlessly wandering around the stairwell outside his closed apartment door and carrying the loaded pistol

As he walked about, he could be seen pointing the gun at doors and in the air, and rapidly pulling the trigger as he went

The boy waves the gun in the air, as seen by a neighbor’s security camera

In the On Patrol: Live segment, police can be seen speaking to the boy’s father, who insisted he did not own a gun or have one in the apartment, but that his cousin who was staying with him did own one.

Cops could be heard asking the toddler ‘Where’d you put down that toy?’ as they searched the apartment.

The father told police he and his wife had both been sick recently and that he had been trying to stay up with the child to take care of him, but that his illness must have distracted him while the child got his hands on the weapon and made it into the hallway.

Police eventually found the weapon in the apartment after their search. The boy was returned to his other, with whom he lived full time.

Two of the neighbors who saw the boy with the handgun in their hallway. They called the police

The woman whose security camera captured the boy with the gun in the building hallway

On Patrol: Live commentator Sean Larkin said seeing the footage behind such an incident was ‘very different’ than just reading about it.

‘We hear these types of stories where kids come across this firearms, these horrific results that do happen sometimes, but seeing it on video is definitely very different,’ he said.’

Commentator Curtis Wilson said things could have easily gone differently without the intervention of watchful neighbors.

‘Which is good that citizens or neighbors got involved, because it could be really a tragic situation,’ Wilson said.

The handgun where it was discovered in the back of a desk in the apartment

A police officer examines the pistol after it was found in their search of the apartment

Officers speak with the boy’s father when they first arrived at the apartment where the boy was seen

Viewers of the video were equally horrified.

‘The father shouldn’t be allowed to ever own a gun again,’ wrote one commenter on Mediaite. ‘He should be charged with reckless endangerment, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to the maximum.’

Another also added that he thought there should be a serious prison sentence for the father.

‘If you leave a gun out where a child can get to it and use it, you should be criminally liable for whatever damage the child does,’ they wrote. ‘Similar to a felony murder statute, you need not pull the trigger to be convicted of homicide.’

Student, 6, stole mom’s gun from home and put it in backpack before shooting his TEACHER during class: Child shot single bullet through woman’s hand and CHEST – and boy is now being detained in medical facility

Abby Zwerner, 25, was shot by a six-year-old student in her classroom
The single bullet went through her hand and chest, police confirmed
Zwerner is now in stable condition and the child is in a medical facility
The gun was the child’s mom’s – and he brought it to school in his backpack

A six-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia had stolen his mother’s gun from their home before putting it in his backpack and pulling the trigger during class.

The Richneck Elementary School student is now being detained in a medical facility where professionals continue to psychologically evaluate him.

Teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, is stable after the life-threatening attack on January 6. She was shot at point-blank range – and the bullet went through her hand and into her chest.

She was giving her first grade class instructions when the child pulled the gun out of his backpack and shot her. Police have confirmed that the attack was intentional, not accidental.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said more facts have to be gathered before the department can determine if charges will be filed against the boy’s mother.

Teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, is stable after the life-threatening incident. She was shot at point-blank range, and the bullet went through her hand and into her chest

Zwerner was shot at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News around 2pm on January 6

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew told a press conference that the child shot one round, which went through the teacher’s hand and then chest

Drew also revealed that Zwerner made sure all of the children in her class were safe and out of the room before she attempted to get help for herself. He said that the teacher’s first question when he visited her was ‘do you know how my students are.’

The six-year-old ‘combative’ boy was physically detained by another school employee following the terrifying shooting – who he then hit, police confirmed.

When they arrived at the scene, they placed the child in a police car and later took him to be interviewed him with his mother.

Police have confirmed that the gun which he brought into school was in fact his mother’s. She had bought it legally in York County, and it was in their home.

It’s currently unclear how the child was able to obtain the weapon at home.

The six-year-old ‘combative’ boy was physically detained by another school employee after the shooting – who he then hit, police confirmed

The teacher has been hailed a hero in the local community

Police have not released any details about the child – or his parents – but said that more interviews and probes are taking place. The six-year-old is now in a ‘medical facility’ and will appear before a judge in the coming days.

Meanwhile, a grandparent of a student at the school claimed that the week prior to the attack, one child brought in ‘shiny gold bullets’ and told his class and teacher he was thinking about bringing in a gun.

It is not clear if the student described by the grandparent is the same one who shot Zwerner.

Speaking to DailyMail.com, the grandmother said: ‘The parents outside stated that their child told them a kid brought golden shiny bullets to school and was thinking about bringing his gun. The student told the parent, who informed the school.

‘And the school just yesterday got back to the parent saying the parent of the kid said it was a nerf bullet and the parent said nerf bullets aren’t shiny and gold.’

Zwerner was reportedly attempting to confiscate the gun from the young child when he shot her. Police said they were working to determine how the child got the weapon and why he shot his teacher.

Richneck is remaining closed through Friday of this week as the school and community continue to ponder ways to get students through this crisis.

One parent, Mark Anthony Garcia, whose young son attends Richneck, told CNN that the entire incident is a safety system failure of the education apparatus.

He said that local parents have raised prior concerns to no avail.

‘We’ve talked to the principal, we’ve talked to the guidance counselor, we’ve went to town hall meetings, we spoke on zooms, what else are we supposed to do?’ he said.

As a veteran, Garcia said that what happened at the school was the failure of multiple security measures, including metal detectors, of which he says the school has just one in the library.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y5W0ryzrfIk%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US

Garcia’s son, Mark Jr., told CNN that just after the shooting, which he heard from his nearby classroom, ‘we all stayed quiet.’

‘Two people were crying,’ he said.

One key question, Mark Sr. said, is understanding if there were any issues in the classroom in the past.

Dr. James Fedderman, President of the Virginia Education Association, said the problem is only going to get worse if the mental health needs of students are not met soon.

‘We’re going to see an increase in crime in our schools and we really needs to take the reins and do something about it,’ he said, adding that schools do not currently have the capacity to address the ‘social-emotional needs of our students.’

Richneck Elementary will remain closed this week as administrative leaders continue to think through how to move students past the trauma experienced

Lawonda Sample-Rusk told a local outlet how she responded to the shooting of 25-year-old teacher Abby Zwerner

Lawonda Sample-Rusk, a grandmother who was at the school early to pick up her two grandchildren, helped render aid to the wounded Zwerner.

Rusk told local news outlet WKTR that she heard Zwerner cry out ‘I’m shot, I’m shot. Call 911.’

She and the school receptionist at first thought Rusk had just been wounded on her hand, but then she ‘passed out on the floor.’

Rusk and the receptionist stayed with Zwerner and helped put pressure on the wound while other administrators herded young students to designated safe zones.

The terrifying incident led Rusk to the area’s second annual Stop the Violence Rally.

Concerned residents, community activists and city leaders came together to share concerns about community safety following the shooting.

Police have so far declined to comment on what, if any, contact they’ve had with Zwerner.

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