Father arrested in accidental shooting
Police arrested the father of a 4-year-old boy who found a handgun in his house Wednesday morning and accidentally shot and killed himself , police said.
Investigators believe Shawn Dean Sr. left a handgun out and within the reach of Shawn Dean Jr., 4, and the boy grabbed it, accidentally shooting himself in the head, police spokesman Sgt. Don Kelly said.
When police responded to a call at 10:54 a.m. of a shooting at 2944 Iroquois St., they found the boy’s body in the arms of his 26-year-old father, Kelly said.
The child had one gunshot wound in his face, Kelly said.
Another child, a girl who is about 2 years old and presumed to be the boy’s sister, was found in the home when officers arrived, Kelly said. The girl was not injured, he said.
Dean was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on counts of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and felon in possession of a firearm, Kelly said.
The boy was home with his sleeping mother and the girl when the shooting occurred, Kelly said.
The father was running an errand and returned home to find that his son had been shot, Kelly said.
The father hid the gun before police arrived, but police eventually found it in a field near the family’s home, Kelly said.
The call to police about the shooting came from a cellphone that appeared to belong to a neighbor, Kelly said.
The incident is still under investigation, Kelly said