WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida man has been arrested after a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself with a gun belonging to his mother's boyfriend, deputies said.
Juan Gomez Quintero, 21, had been dating the toddler's mother for four months and lived with them.
According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office probable cause affidavit, the child found a handgun Wednesday morning, shot himself in the hand and was rushed to Palms West Hospital by his mother.
The boy was treated for a gunshot wound to his pinky finger and another finger on his other hand. He was later released from the hospital.
Deputies said Quintero admitted he left the loaded gun in a nightstand where the child could access it, but he wasn't home at the time of the incident.
According to the affadavit, when the mother called and told Quintero what happened, he went to the home to retrieve the gun.
Deputies said Quintero placed the gun, his wallet and two cellphones under the driver's seat of a car parked at Haverhill Park.
Quintero faces charges of culpable negligence, tampering with evidence and unlawful storage of a firearm.