Indiana man arrested after toddler shown on live TV with handgun
Michelle Watson and Aaron Eggleston, CNN
A man was arrested in Beech Grove, Indiana, after video was shown on live TV of a toddler, reportedly the man’s son, waving and pulling the trigger of a handgun.
The video was aired by Reelz series “On Patrol: Live,” during the TV show’s live broadcast on Saturday, January 14, according to a news release.
A police incident report obtained by CNN affiliate WTHR said Shane Osborne, faces a neglect charge. The report also lists “ring camera footage” that was obtained and uploaded to a police server. A 9mm gun found at the scene had 15 rounds in the magazine, but no rounds in the gun’s chamber, the report said.
Osborne is expected to appear in court Tuesday afternoon, according to WTHR. The show identified Osborne as the boy’s father.
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley released a statement to WTHR saying he was “mortified” about the incident.
“As with all of you, I’m mortified and what took place and I’m so thankful that no one was hurt, especially the young child. I appreciate the quick action taken by the Beech Grove Police Department to secure the small child and the gun in question.”
Video from a neighbor’s security camera that aired on “On Patrol: Live,” shows a little boy in the entryway of an apartment complex waving a handgun back and forth and pulling the trigger.
According to a release from the show, Beech Grove police officers responded after a neighbor called 911, “stating she and her son had witnessed the child alone in the hallway outside their unit, and that he had been holding a gun and pointing it at them.”
When officers arrived, the purported father of the child said he did not have a gun. “I don’t have a gun,” the man said, as police entered his apartment, “I have never brought a gun into this house, if there is, it’s my cousin’s.”
Police proceeded to search the apartment looking for a gun and eventually found a firearm under a television in the living room.
It’s unclear if it’s the same gun seen in the neighbor’s security footage, but one of the officers on the scene says it’s a “Smith & Wesson SD9mm.”
Police are later seen taking the man, handcuffed, out of the apartment complex.
An officer said after speaking with on-call prosecutors, there was enough for an arrest “for child neglect, that’s a felony,” since there was a loaded firearm in the apartment.
CNN has reached out to the Beech Grove police department, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and the mayor’s office for comment and more information.
It is unclear if Osborne has an attorney at this time. CNN has reached out to the public defender’s office for more information.
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