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Indiana dad arrested after ghastly video shows toddler waving handgun before pulling trigger on himself

On Saturday, January 14, neighbors who saw the diaper-clad toddler playing with a gun in an apartment corridor promptly called the police

BEECH GROVE, INDIANA: A horrifying video shows a diaper-wearing toddler playing with a loaded handgun in an apartment building's hallway. At one point the little child could be seen pointing the firearm at himself and rapidly pulling the trigger in the shocking footage.  

Neighbors who witnessed the heart-stopping ordeal alerted the police on Saturday, January 14. Upon arrival, the police searched the toddler's parents' house and found a 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol in the back of a desk drawer. Following the incident, the father of the child was arrested and could be charged with child neglect after it was revealed the boy was not harmed, as the bullets had not been chambered in the gun. 

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In the clip, the toddler could be seen wandering in the stairwell outside his closed apartment door with a gun in Beech Grove, Indiana, which is just outside of Indianapolis. The child thinking the weapon is a toy, continues to play with it by aiming it in the air, at the door, and rapidly firing the handgun. But the nerve-wracking moment was when the toddler points the weapon at himself before pulling the trigger. 

In a live segment of 'On Patrol', police can be seen questioning the boy's father, who insists he did not own the gun or have one in the apartment, but that his cousin who was living with him, owns it. Cops could also be seen questioning the toddler, "Where'd you put down that toy?" as they searched the apartment. The father informed the police that he and his wife and been sick recently and that his illness must have distracted the child when he got his hands on the weapon and made it to the hallway. The weapon was eventually found in the apartment, and the father was arrested. 

'On Patrol: Live' commentator Sean Larkin spoke of the incident and said it is "very different" than just reading it. "We hear these types of stories where kids come across this firearms, these horrific results that do happen sometimes, but seeing it on video is definitely very different," he said, as per Daily Mail. Commentator Curtis Wilson added, things could have easily gone differently without the intervention of watchful neighbors. "Which is good that citizens or neighbors got involved, because it could be really a tragic situation."

Internet users were outraged after seeing the toddler play with the gun. One user wrote, "I both hate this video and am glad it exists, bc who could believe we live in a society where this is real?" A second user added, "What's worse, the unattending father or the neighbor that makes sure he's got it videoed? What if that boy shot himself on video???" Third chimed, "Important context…neighbors called police which led to the dad lying. Police had no proof and were leaving. Another neighbor caught it on doorbell video and showed police as they were walking away. They turned around after watching. Without this video, the dad would have walked." A fourth said, "This is so scary and not ok at all." "Every time a child has a loaded weapon the owner of that weapon should be arrested. There is no excuse for not securing a weapon," read a tweet.

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