Man Arrested On Live TV After Toddler Is Seen Roaming Apartment Hallway With Handgun

On Saturday night, those watching Reelz’s “On Patrol Live” saw police in Beech Grove, Indiana arrest a man after his son was seen roaming an apartment hallway with a firearm, NBC News reported.

In the beginning of the live streamed segment, police arrive to an apartment complex after someone called to notify authorities that a toddler was seen with a gun. After officers spoke with the child’s father, they begin to leave but are stopped by the caller, who had captured the incident on his Ring camera.

In the video, the young boy is seen alone and wandering outside of the apartment, wearing nothing but a diaper. Footage shows him waving a firearm around, cooing happily as he plays while unsupervised. He eventually re-enters through the apartment’s front door, calling out to his mother.

“That’s absolutely tough to see,” the live show’s analyst and former police sergeant Sean Larkin comments as he watches. “You could see the kid was clearly pulling the trigger. Had it been chambered, loaded, it could have been a horrific, horrific situation. There’s a point that he’s holding it up, and it’s literally, it almost looks like it’s pointing up toward his own face.”

Beech Grove police immediately returned to the apartment to search for the weapon. They eventually found a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson inside a closed roll-top desk. The boy’s father, who cannot legally own a firearm due to being an ex-con, was arrested and charged with neglect of a dependent and providing a firearm to a child.

“We hear these type of stories where kids come across and find these firearms, and these horrific results that do happen sometimes,” Larkin later says. “But seeing it on video is definitely very different.”

Our biggest stories, straight to your box.

Sign up now to get our essential daily briefs on politics' Environment, Royals and more.

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookies Statement

Related

Editors Picks