Maine father charged after 2-year-old son finds handgun and fires, injuring parents and himself
“This situation could easily have been fatal. The carelessness is astounding."
WEST BATH, Maine (AP) — A Maine man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after his 2-year-old son discovered a loaded handgun and fired a single shot, hitting his parents and injuring himself in the process.
Ian Carr, 25, of West Bath, was arrested Monday and and released on bail, the Times Record reported. It was unclear if Carr had an attorney, and he didn’t immediately return an emailed request for comment.
Police said Carr’s son fired one round from a 9mm semiautomatic handgun that struck both parents while they were sleeping. The recoil of the weapon injured the child. All three went to the hospital on May 12.
“The seriousness of this incident must be underscored,” Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry wrote in a statement Monday. “This situation could easily have been fatal. The carelessness is astounding.”
The loaded handgun was left on a nightstand where the boy found it, Merry said. The boy’s mother was shot in the leg and bullet fragments hit Carr in the back of the head, the newspaper reported.
The boy and a 3-week-old sibling who was in the room are currently in the custody of family members.
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