Tragic Incident Involving Toddler Shooting
An eastern Pennsylvania man is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in connection with the tragic death of a 3-year-old boy. The authorities have stated that the child accidentally shot himself with a handgun that was left unattended, adding to a series of similar incidents involving young children.
Jose Hilario Abreu, 28, of Allentown, was arraigned on Friday for the incident that occurred on March 28, resulting in the death of Elijah Abreu Borgen. The child was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest but succumbed to a gunshot wound to the torso, which was determined to be accidental.
According to Lehigh County prosecutors, Abreu is accused of leaving a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun, with a live cartridge in the chamber, unattended while the victim and another 2-year-old child were in the vicinity.
The prosecutors claim that Abreu admitted to placing the gun under the sofa where the two toddlers were seated before leaving the room. Upon hearing a loud noise, he returned to find Elijah with a gunshot wound to the chest. The gun was reportedly unholstered and resting on a pillow on the couch where the children were sitting when it discharged.
Prosecutors revealed that a rapid gunshot residue test conducted after the child's death showed a "presumptive positive indication" of gunshot residue on his hands.
Abreu has been placed in Lehigh County jail awaiting arraignment set for Friday; according to court documents, he is being represented by the county public defender's office, which was unreachable for comment over the weekend.
This incident adds to a series of tragic shootings involving young children across the country in recent months.
In February, a 2-year-old boy passed away shortly after an accidental shooting in Indianapolis, and a 3-year-old tragically shot himself in the head after discovering a gun in his North Carolina residence. That same month, a woman lost her life when a toddler in her vehicle accidentally fired a gun in a Tennessee shopping center parking lot.
In January, the parents of a 3-year-old child who accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old sibling were charged with manslaughter in Kentucky.
In November last year, a 2-year-old boy was unintentionally shot and killed by his brother with an unsecured firearm in Gary, Indiana.
Over the past two decades, data from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that hundreds of children have tragically lost their lives while playing with guns. A majority of these devastating incidents occurred in apartments or homes, with over 50% of the deaths taking place in the child's own house.
A report by the nonprofit Everytown For Gun Safety emphasizes the importance of safe storage procedures and laws in reducing America's unintentional shootings. As of the beginning of 2024, 26 states had implemented some form of gun-safe storage or child access prevention laws. Shockingly, more than half of children between the ages of zero to five years old died from self-inflicted gunshots, and over half of the children accidentally killed by another person were under 10 years old, according to the nonprofit's findings.
