Oakland Father Charged With Child Abuse After 3-Year-Old Son Shoots Self
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- An ex-convict who's the father of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in East Oakland on Monday night and remains in critical condition was charged Thursday with two counts of felony child abuse in connection with the shooting, prosecutors said.
Covonne Page Sr., 29, was also charged with being an ex-felon in possession of a gun and first-degree criminal firearm storage for the shooting of his son, Covonne Page Jr., inside a home in the 10900 block of Robledo Drive at about 7:23 p.m. on Monday.
Oakland police Sgt. Michael Cardoza wrote in a probable cause statement that Covonne Page Sr. and his wife Natasha Page took their son to San Leandro Hospital after the shooting.
Covonne Jr. was later transferred to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, where he remains in critical condition.
Cardoza said it was determined that Covonne Jr. suffered a through-and-through gunshot wound to his lower right groin area which exited his buttock.
Cardoza wrote that after Covonne Page Sr. was arrested he told police that he possessed a semi-automatic gun that he had hidden on top of the entertainment cabinet at their home.
The father told police, "He believed his son must have climbed up the cabinet and found the gun" and then shot himself, according to Cardoza.
Police had previously said that the boy had been struck by a stray bullet.
Page Sr. also admitted that he discarded the firearm after his son was shot, Cardoza said.
Prosecutors allege that Page Sr. shouldn't have possessed any firearms because he was convicted of felony evading an officer in Alameda County in 2011.
The firearm storage count alleges that Page Sr. kept a loaded gun on his family's premises knowing that a child might gain access to it.
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