Manslaughter Charged For Dad Of A 12-Year-Old Boy Who Accidentally Shot Himself In Florida

A Florida father of four has been arrested regarding the death of his son on Monday on charges of aggravated manslaughter against a child under the age of 16.

He's reportedly being held under $100,000 bail.

Christopher Wyatt was charged with aggravated manslaughter after sheriff's deputies claimed that his 12-year-old son found a loaded semi-automatic rifle under his dad's bed, and then accidentally shot himself in the head.

The horrible accident occurred on August 31, when Jeramyah Wyatt and two younger sisters were in their parents' bedroom, where the family had slept after watching a movie, the deputies explained.

But at the time of the shooting, Christopher Wyatt and his wife were reportedly attending their 1-year-old, and the girls were not in the room, leaving Jeramyah alone, according to an affidavit.

Parents heard a loud bang followed by one of their daughters screaming, Villages-News.com reported. Wyatt raced upstairs to find that his son had been shot.

The rifle, which did not have a trigger lock or safety, was discharged when the boy apparently reached for it.

Wyatt, 31, told the deputies that he had loaded the gun several days before Jeramyah 's death while checking out a strange noise in his yard. An affidavit states that Wyatt believed that he had unloaded the firearm before putting it under his bed.

According to a probable cause affidavit from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Orlando Sentinel reported, Florida child protection officials had warned Wyatt in October 2019 about properly securing his firearms from his children after the agents received a complaint about unsafe storage.

Florida law requires gun owners to secure firearms in a locked container or trigger lock if children under the age of 16 have access to them, according to the Sentinel.

Image Source:- Lake County Sheriff's Office.