A two-year-old Arizona toddler accidentally shot himself with a gun left on a couch while his father was distracted watching online videos, Phoenix police said.
The child’s father, 27-year-old Oscar Guerra, has been arrested and booked on one felony count of child abuse.
Police say Guerra admitted to placing the firearm on the armrest of a couch with the intention of cleaning it, but became distracted by videos on his computer.
Around 10:40 p.m. on July 9, at a home near 84th Avenue and Campbell Avenue in west Phoenix, officers arrived to find Guerra holding his injured son, who had a gunshot wound to the upper left arm and a broken bone, according to court documents.
The injured toddler was later taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Guerra told investigators he saw his young son walk into the living room but believed the boy had returned to his bedroom.
Roughly 30 seconds later, while still focused on his computer, Guerra said he heard a gunshot and turned to find his son bleeding.
The child’s mother told police she was in the kitchen at the time of the shooting and heard the gunfire.
She also reported a previous incident in which Guerra left a gun unsecured in the home and said they had discussed the importance of keeping firearms properly stored.
Officers later found the weapon under the couch.
Guerra acknowledged to police that he was responsible for ensuring the gun was out of the child’s reach and admitted to making a serious error.
He was released from jail without bail to visit his son in the hospital. If convicted, he faces up to nearly nine years in prison.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety has been notified and is conducting a separate investigation, AZCentral reported.
Gun safety experts say the case stresses the critical importance of secure firearm storage, particularly in homes with children.
‘They’re not going to sit there and weigh the risk or benefit of handling a firearm,’ Barret Kendrick, a gun safety consultant told AZFamily.
‘Generally speaking, as a responsible gun owner, we need to make sure that we’re preventing access to anyone who has not been trained or could not be trusted with that firearm.’
The investigation is ongoing.