A Pennsylvania couple has been charged after their 4-year-old son shot himself in the head with a gun they had forgotten on the bedroom floor next to their painting set.
Laura Steele and Michael Lynn were charged with endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the July 6 shooting that seriously injured their son, Ronnie Lynn.
“This was a tragic and unacceptable shooting that ultimately could and should have been prevented,” District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a statement announcing the charges Monday. “There is a simple solution to prevent these types of incidents from occurring and that is to store firearms in a safe place.”
Police were called to the family’s Rostaver Township home after the young man shot himself in the head with a gun that was loaded and unsecured under the bed, prosecutors said.
Ronnie Lynn, 4, was seriously injured after shooting himself in the head with his parents’ unsecured gun. family brochure
The boy’s parents were home and heard a “pop” before discovering their son bleeding on the floor with the gun next to him, according to the district attorney’s office.
Steele allegedly told police that his son sometimes looked under the bed, where the family kept the gun, to get a paint kit, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
The mother said the firearm had been there for so long that she forgot it was there and that she was more worried that her son would hurt himself playing with the scissors.
Ronnie, left, underwent surgery and has been undergoing physical therapy to regain use of his arms and legs. family brochure
Ronnie was rushed to UPMC Children’s Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
In September, his family posted an update on his condition and said he was undergoing physical therapy to regain feeling in his arms and legs after having to relearn how to speak.
More than five months after the shooting, the boy continues to receive constant medical care. His grandfather told WTAE that he now walks but that he still has trouble using his right arm.
Ziccarelli said Ronnie “will probably have to live with this painful reminder for the rest of his life.”
Police said the 4-year-old’s mother blames herself for what happened to her son because “she was too tired to pay attention to her own son.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn