A Rhode Island father shot his 4-year-old son in the head Tuesday morning while handling a loaded weapon he was legally barred from possessing.
Michael A. Jones, 33, has been charged with assault, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and firing a weapon in a compact area, the Cranston Police Department said. An additional charge of violating a suspended sentence is expected from the state attorney general’s office.
The boy was reported to be in critical condition after emergency surgery at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, WJAR reported.
Cranston Police said Jones was convicted of felony assault and sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and probation on June 1, 2022. As a convicted felon, he was barred from possessing a firearm. Police don’t yet know how he came into possession of the weapon.
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Police said they found the gun during a search of the home.
Jones was in a second-floor bedroom of the house at the time of the shooting. He told investigators he “accidentally” discharged the 9 mm handgun, which caused a bullet to travel through a wall and hit the 4-year-old in another room.
The boy’s grandfather was on the first floor of the home and called 911.
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