Father ‘recklessly’ handles gun, shoots son in abdomen

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A 47-year-old man has been charged with weapons violation and endangerment after allegedly shooting his son in the abdomen in Arizona, United States.

Phoenix Police Department arrested Jason J. Wroten after critically injuring his son early Monday morning, May 4, NBC-affiliate KPNX reported on the same day. Wroten was apparently showing his son how to load and use a handgun when the incident occurred.

The boy, described to be between the ages of 8 to 10 years old, was taken to a local hospital. The child spent several hours in surgery but is expected to recover.

Initially, Wroten told the authorities that he and his son were outside when an unidentified person, possibly riding a car, shot multiple times in their direction. The father claimed his son was shot from this drive-by shooting.

Police declared that they were not able to find any evidence of the supposed shooting in the area. There were also no witnesses to confirm the father’s claim, as per report.

Wroten later on told the authorities that his son was handing the weapon back to him when the gun fired and hit the boy in the abdomen. The father was also said to be “recklessly” handling the handgun, which led to the incident.

Wroten immediately called for help and placed the gun in a safe located in his bedroom, reported ABC affiliate KNXV-TV on the same day.

However, court papers cited by the NBC affiliate emphasized that Wroten had “several opportunities over several hours” to report the incident to the police but chose not to until he was confronted with additional evidence.

Wroten is set to appear in court next week and was ordered to post a $5,000 (over P252,000) bond. Cha Lino/JB

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