CLEARWATER, Fla. — Authorities arrested a man accused of bringing a gun to a Clearwater apartment that later ended up in the hands of a 3-year-old child who accidentally shot himself.
Kenneth Houston, 25, faces a charge of felony culpable negligence for the Sunday, Dec. 5, shooting, according to a Clearwater Police Department news release. He was arrested on a warrant Thursday in Hillsborough County before being extradited to Pinellas County and placed in jail.
Police say Houston had lived at the Creekside Apartments on Druid Road for some time and had brought over a gun about a week before the shooting. The child's father reportedly told Houston to get rid of the gun, but it remained at the home.
The child somehow found the gun and shot himself in the shoulder. After the shooting, police say Houston ran off and took the gun with him.
It's not known where the gun is located.
The boy was treated and released from Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.