3-year-old Boy Shoots Himself Dead with Handgun He Found in His Father's Shop

 

 

The toddler was with his father Manal Abdelziz in a convenience store in Laurinburg, North Carolina, when he accidentally shot himself with a handgun he found in his father’s shop.

 

He found the gun under the cash register as his father was putting coins into rolls, police said.

 

"He was actually working in the store at the time," Capt. Terry Parker said.

 

"I believe he was rolling some coins and had taken his eyes off the child for just a moment,” he told ABC 11.

 

The toddler was pronounced dead at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton.

 

Robeson County District Attorney’s Office are still deciding whether to charge Mr Abdelziz. It is illegal to have an unsecured gun in the presence of a child.

 

"Dad was very upset as you can imagine," Parker said. "Being a father myself, I can't imagine what he's going through, and what he went through.”

 

Parker said his department is running the handgun and the fingerprints through the Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco database.