2-Year-Old Shoots Himself In Portage; Father Facing Neglect Charges
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A father from Portage, Indiana, is facing felony child neglect charges, after his 2-year-old son accidentally shot himself on Thursday, after getting his hands on an unsecured handgun.
Portage police said officers responded to the 6200 block of Old Porter Road on Thursday for a report of a child who had been shot. When they arrived, 30-year-old John Mourani was in front of the house, waiting for police and paramedics, as he held his 2-year-old son, who had been shot in the leg.
Police said Mourani had used a piece of clothing to apply pressure to the toddler's wound and slow the bleeding before paramedics arrived.
The child was taken to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus, and was later transferred to Comer Children's Hospital, and is expected to survive.
When questioned by police, Mourani admitted he had left a loaded semiautomatic handgun in his bedroom, and the mechanical safety was not engaged. The boy was able to get his hands on the gun, and accidentally shot himself, according to police.
The boy's mother was not home at the time. Mourani and his son were the only ones home at the time.
Mourani has been arrested on a preliminary charge of felony neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.
