A 4-year-old boy shot himself in the foot Thursday after getting hold of an unsecured firearm inside a Tucson home, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. The boy's father, 31-year-old Tyler Lake, was arrested on charges of child abuse and child endangerment and has since been released to pretrial services.
Deputies responded to a report of an accidental shooting around 5 p.m. at a home in the 2500 block of West Curtis Road, according to kgun9.com. Investigators allege that Lake had left a gun unsecured and accessible to the child, and the boy was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Court documents reviewed by azfamily.com indicate the firearm was sitting on a dresser in the master bedroom while two of Lake's children were in the room unattended. Detectives arrested Lake on one count of child abuse and two counts of child endangerment, per the same report from kgun9.com.
Father Released to Pretrial Services
Lake appeared in Pima County court on Friday and was released to pretrial services, according to the article from azfamily.com. The sheriff's department has said this is an ongoing investigation, with no further details released about how the child accessed or fired the weapon.
According to the seed reporting from KVOA, Lake was booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex, and the Arizona Department of Child Safety was notified about the incident. Pima County Sheriff's Department officials said unsecured firearms can have serious, potentially fatal consequences, and advised that guns should be kept locked and inaccessible to children.
A Pattern Seen Beyond Tucson
The Tucson case follows a string of similar incidents reported elsewhere in recent days. In Marshfield, Missouri, a 5-year-old girl died after accidentally shooting herself with a gun that had not been properly secured, according to a report from azfamily.com. Police said in that case the girl had gotten access to her father's gun because it was not properly secured, and she died at the scene.
Earlier this month, the parents of a 3-year-old boy near Detroit were charged with misdemeanor crimes after the child brought a loaded gun in his backpack to a daycare and showed it to other children, according to nbcnews.com. That gun was not fired and no one was injured, though the outlet noted that Wayne County's prosecutor's office has handled nearly two dozen similar gun-access cases since 2024.
What Federal Data Shows
Federal health researchers have flagged the risks tied to firearms left within reach of children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that unsecured firearms, including those left unlocked and loaded, are associated with the risk of unintentional childhood firearm injury deaths, according to cdc.gov. The agency has also reported that firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1 to 19 in 2020 and 2021 when homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries were counted together.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recommends that households with children use safety locks or store firearms in a secure location accessible only to adults, and keep ammunition locked away separately, according to guidance published by atf.gov. No further details on the condition of the Tucson boy or the status of the ongoing investigation have been released.
