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Police: Father arrested after boy finds gun, accidentally shoots himself
Orlando police arrested a father after they say his 8-year-old son found a gun in the house and accidentally shot himself in the hand.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando police arrested a father after they say his 8-year-old son found a gun in the house and accidentally shot himself in the hand.
"When I came over here I was very, very shocked," said Theresa Cineus.
She says her 8-year-old grandson is recovering after accidentally shooting himself. Officers arrested the boy’s father, Rodriguez Dowe, who’s also Cineus's son.
Dowe, 38, is charged with aggravated child neglect and carrying a firearm by a convicted felon. He's also accused of failing to store the gun safely.
"What really, really hurts me is that my son, he’s being accused of something that he didn’t do. He was asleep," she said. "He didn’t know a gun was in the house."
She says her son’s girlfriend had the gun hidden in a purse on the top shelf of a closet and her grandson, who was visiting, found it.
"The child was rambling through things and went up there and got the gun," Cineus said.
Arms Room Radio host Mike Piwowarski says there are gun locks and safes in which to properly store firearms.
"Any time there’s a firearm in possession, you must take safety precautions with children around, with adults around," he said.
"I understand that and agree with that, clearly. But if he doesn’t know, I mean, I wasn’t even aware the gun was here," Cineus said.
She says she's worried about both her grandson and son.
Orlando police also called the Department of Children and Families to investigate.