COLUMBUS – A Northeast Side man is facing a charge of child endangering after his toddler son accidentally shot himself with a gun the man left on a couch while playing a video game.
Officers found Demonte Walker and the child’s mother carrying the boy out of Walker’s home in the 2000 block of Bancroft Street just before 11:30 a.m., Det. Eric Poliseno of the Columbus police Physical Abuse Unit said.
Authorities say Walker told police he had his handgun with him and had put it on the couch next to himself. His 23-month-old son soon picked up the gun and shot himself in the abdomen.
The child remains in critical condition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital but is expected to recover.
Walker, 24, was charged with child endangering, a third-degree felony, Poliseno said.
Police say Walker had been released from jail on bond and was on house arrest.