Zach Horgan, a sergeant with the Beech Grove Police Department, said there hadn’t been a bullet in the gun’s chamber, but the magazine was full of ammo. “This kid could’ve hurt himself, hurt his dad, or hurt a lot of other people, because this gun was loaded,” he said.
Osborne allegedly told police the gun belonged to his cousin, who’d left it there, a claim officers said they were skeptical about. He’d previously been convicted of felony theft and forgery, he told police, which would make it illegal for him to possess a gun under federal law.
The boy was returned to his mother, who he lives with, after which Osborne was taken into custody. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
In a statement to Fox 59, Beech Grove Mayor Dennis B. Buckley said he was “mortified [about] what took place” and is “so thankful that no one was hurt, especially the young child.”
“I appreciate the quick action taken by the Beech Grove Police Department to secure the small child and the gun in question,” Buckley said. “I ask that the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office work tirelessly to secure charges and a conviction against the responsible parties, with maximum penalties. Society shouldn’t accept anything less.”
The incident came just over a week after a 6-year-old in Virginia shot his first grade teacher, leaving her with life-threatening injuries. The gun belonged to the child’s mother, police said.
Guns are the leading cause of death in children, according to CDC data. In 2022, there were at least 301 unintentional shootings by children, according to gun control advocacy group Everytown.
The American Public Health Association says gun violence in the US is a public health crisis. It is a leading cause of premature death in the country, responsible for more than 38,000 deaths annually. As of Jan. 16, at least 786 people have already died from gun violence this year, and another 1,056 have died by suicide, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. In 2022, more than 20,000 people died from gun violence, with over 24,000 additional gun deaths by suicide.
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliareinstein/toddler-gun-beech-grove-indiana-on-patrol-tv
