A man now faces charges after his 3-year-old son grabbed his loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed himself in Allentown, the Lehigh County District Attorney said.
On March 28, shortly before noon, a woman called 911 reporting that her 3-year-old son had shot himself in the chest. Police responded to the woman’s home on the 900 block of Hamilton Street where they found the boy – later identified as 3-year-old Elijah Abreu Borgen – suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso.
The child was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest where he was pronounced dead. His death was ruled accidental.
Investigators determined the boy’s father, 28-year-old Jose Hilario Abreu, had a loaded Glock 19 semi-automatic handgun inside the home while Elijah and a 2-year-old child were inside. Abreu told investigators he placed the gun under the sofa the two toddlers were sitting on and left the room, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators also said the gun had a live cartridge in the chamber and was on top of a pillow on the couch where the toddlers were sitting.
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Abreu said that while he was in another room, he heard a loud bang and then found his son suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to investigators.
Abreu was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in which the victim is under 12 years of age, endangering the welfare of children and violating a duty of care which creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury for a child age 6 and younger.
Abreu was arraigned on Friday with bail set at $250,000 cash. He was committed to the Lehigh County Jail.
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The Lehigh County Public Defenders Office is representing Abreu but court records don’t list a specific public defender.
