Police: Boy, 3, accidentally shoots, kills father in Indiana home after finding his loaded gun

SALEM, Ind. – Police say a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his father after finding the man’s loaded handgun in a southern Indiana home.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin says the 33-year-old Martinsville man had brought his gun with him Friday to a home he was remodeling in Salem, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) northwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

Goodin says the man, his wife, their three children and a juvenile relative were at the home when the 3-year-old boy apparently found the gun and it accidentally discharged, fatally wounding the man.

Goodin says the case remains under investigation and prosecutors will determine if any adult should face charges. He calls the case a “tragic accident and a tragic mistake” of leaving a gun within a child’s reach.

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