A father from Houston, Texas, is accused of a terrible crime: accidentally shooting his own 9-year-old son in the chest during a fit of suspected road rage.
Police have reported that the pair were traveling home on Friday night when the boy was shot. Local news outlets have reported that the father allegedly pulled out a gun when he thought that he and his son were being followed.
But the two made it all the way back home without any problems, and the shooting happened once the father was attempting to put the gun back in its holster.
The boy is currently a patient at Texas Children's Hospital and is reportedly in critical but stable condition. It's also been reported that a family member is cooperating with the investigation, though that family member has not been publicly named.
Unfortunately, this is the not the first time this year that parents have accidentally shot their own children. In June 2021, another Houston parent accidentally shot her 5-year-old while attempting to shoot a loose dog.
In that case, police shared that the 24-year-old mom, Angelia Mia Vargas, was trying to shoot a dog that was loose in the street. The dog was a 6-month-old boxer named Bruno. The owner of Bruno declined to appear on camera, but told local news what happened.
"I came out of my house because Bruno was barking and barking. I thought my brother was coming. So, I open the door just a little bit and he comes running out."
Ring camera footage also captured the incident.
In the video, the dog is chasing the family as they ride by on bikes. The owner of the dog calls to the dog to come in, but shots are fired within minutes. The dog's owner added that they didn't believe the gun was necessary. "She could have handled it differently. You know, she was there, her husband was there, I was there, nothing would have happened. Nothing bad like that."
In January 2021, an Oklahoma parent accidentally shot themselves while picking up their child from school. The superintendent of the school distract explained that the situation happened while the parent waited to pick up their child.
"While waiting in line a parent, had a gun in the vehicle and the gun discharged in the vehicle … There were no students or staff in the vicinity when this took place. The person was early in line waiting for pickup, and he basically left the line before school had let out."
