Father of toddler who shot himself is charged
A father has been criminally charged after Columbus police say his toddler son shot himself Monday with a handgun the father left on a couch while playing a video game.
The 23-month-old boy was initially in critical condition when he was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital after the shooting around 11:27 a.m. Monday inside a home on the 2000 block of Bancroft Street.
By late afternoon, Sgt. James Fuqua said, the boy’s condition had improved and he was expected to survive.
On Monday night, police charged the toddler’s father, 24-year-old Demonte J. Walker, Sr., with child endangering, a third degree felony. When interviewed by police, Walker said that he had his handgun with him and had put it on the couch next to himself,
Walker said that he was playing a video games when his son – about an arm’s length away – picked up the gun and shot himself, court documents say.
Police initially reported the boy shot himself in the abdomen inside the onestory home in the Argyle Park neighborhood. When officers arrived, they found the parents leaving the home with the wounded toddler, police said.
The father was detained and interviewed by detectives, who also obtained a search warrant for the house.
Walker has a pending criminal case for a drive-by shooting on March 10, 2019 that occurred on Interstate 670 near Leonard Avenue. He is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder and felonious assault, in that case. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner