Images of the 4-year-old boy waving the gun in his hand led to an investigation by police.
Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A Indiana father was arrested after his young son was captured on live television over the weekend playing with a gun while wandering around his apartment building, according to reports.
The images of the 4-year-old waving the gun in his hand led to an investigation by Beech Grove police, department that appears on the show “On Patrol: Live”, which airs on REELZ.
The CCTV footage from a neighbor appeared to show the boy, alone and unsupervised, playing with the gun and even pulling the trigger. at one point that was shown on the docuseries on Saturday, according to WTHR.
The neighbor reportedly called the police, which led officers to Shane Osborne’s home, where they questioned him about the armed child.
As cameras rolled on the docuseries, Osborne, 45, told police he was sick and asleep when his son left the house, but did not have a gun in the apartment due to previous crimes, the news station reported. .
“I don’t have a gun,” the man said, as police entered his apartment, according to a statement from the show, CNN reported. “I have never brought a weapon to this house, if there is one, it belongs to my cousin.”
But a gun was later found in the back of a sunroof rig with 15 rounds inside but none in the chamber, WTHR reported.
An officer on the scene said the recovered gun was a “9mm Smith & Wesson SD,” CNN reported.
Footage from “On Patrol: Live” showed the handcuffed father leaving the apartment, according to Fox 59.
“It’s almost incomprehensible what you’re seeing,” Beech Grove Deputy Police Chief Robert Mercuri said, according to WTHR.
“I saw it the next day and even though I knew the result, as I was watching the video, I was still scared. You find yourself catching your breath. I don’t know how you can’t watch that video, whether you’re a parent or not, and don’t be surprised or upset.”
The neighbor who called police said the little boy “just kept saying ‘pow, pow, pow, pow,’” according to WTHR.
“He was standing in the middle of the hallway and he was holding (the gun) behind his back and I thought…like it was a real gun. I sell guns for a living, so I know what a gun looks like,” said neighbor Nicole Summers.
The father faces one charge of neglect, but could face more charges because he is a registered felon, police said.
The boy is now with his mother, who told WTHR it was scary to see her son with a gun, but insisted Osborne is a good father.
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley said he appreciated how quickly officers worked to secure the boy and the gun.
“As with all of you, I am mortified by what happened and I am very grateful that no one was hurt, especially the little boy,” he said.
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