Photo: Fox 59 News
An Indiana father was arrested on live television over the weekend after his young son was reportedly seen playing with a semi-automatic gun.
Video footage from a Ring doorbell apparently captured Osborne’s diaper-clad 4-year-old holding the loaded gun in the hallway of his apartment building.
On Patrol: Live, a REELZ reality show which features the suburban Indianapolis police department, aired the arrest.
“It’s almost incomprehensible what you’re watching,” Beech Grove Deputy Police Chief Robert Mercuri toldWTHR Indianapolis. “I saw it the next day and even though I knew the outcome, as I’m watching the video, I was still scared. You find yourself catching your breath. I don’t know how you can’t watch that video, parent or non-parent and not be shocked and disturbed.”
Beech Grove Police Department
Nicole Summers, a neighbor who lives in the Beech Grove Apartments, called 911 to alert authorities after the unidentified, unclothed preschool-age child came to her door and pointed a gun at her son, she told the outlet.
She added, “I sell guns for a living, so I know what a gun looks like.”
In the video, the boy waved the weapon and pulled the trigger. The gun was one round short of being fully loaded,police told NBC News.
The father was arrested on felony neglect charges, WTHR reported.
A court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. It is not yet clear if Osbourne has obtained a legal representative.
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Mercuri credited the quick-thinking actions of Summers and others, which averted what could have been a tragic ending. “It was key,” the deputy police chief said, NBC News reported. “Because you have that immediate video, you take the step forward to get involved, to be helpful, then officers on the scene can do the job that everybody wants them to do.”
For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visitBeSMARTforkids.org.
source: people.com
