Man arrested after child takes his gun and points it at people

A Porterville man was arrested after 3-year-old child picked up his handgun and began pointing it at a family member in the home, the Porterville Police Department reported.

At approximately 12:11 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7, PPD officers responded to a residence in the 1300 block of North Lindale Place regarding the child picking up the unattended handgun from the couch and pointing at a nearby family member. The handgun was quickly taken away before anyone was harmed, PPD reported.

Investigation revealed the handgun was left unattended on the couch by another family member, Armando Ortega, who was in another room at the time. Ortega took the handgun and fled prior to officers’ arrival on Wednesday.

At about 8 a.m. on Thursday, Ortega was located at his residence and was arrested without incident. The handgun was also located and collected and Ortega was later booked into the Tulare County Jail where he is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail on suspicion of child endangerment and criminal storage of a firearm.