(WHDH) — A 30-year-old man is facing criminal charges after he reportedly pulled out a loaded gun to show it off to a group of children before shooting a 7-year-old boy who was playing with a Nerf gun.
Anthony Knuth, of Sanford, Florida, was arrested Sunday and charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm and using a firearm under the influence of alcohol, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Knuth allegedly interrupted a group of children playing with toy guns at his sister’s friend’s house and told them that he had a real gun with real bullets to load it with, WOFL-TV reported.
The victim’s mother told police that she left Knuth in the room with the children for about 10 minutes when she heard a pop, ran into the room, and found her son suffering from a gunshot wound to the knee, according to the news outlet.
The boy was taken to a nearby hospital. There was no immediate word on his condition.
Knuth allegedly stated that he was going to jail for shooting a child after the incident.
While in custody, Knuth reportedly told police that he had consumed several shots of Southern Comfort and that he didn’t remember shooting the child.
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