Toddler shot in Phoenix dies, father arrested on child abuse charge

PHOENIX — A 2-year-old boy has died after being shot at a Phoenix apartment, and his father was arrested for allegedly keeping a loaded gun where the child could reach it, authorities said Thursday.

The shooting occurred around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at a complex near 19th Avenue and Thunderbird Road and was reported as accidental, Sgt. Andy Williams, a Phoenix Police Department spokesman, said in a press conference.

On Thursday, police said in a press release that 29-year-old Joshua Lewis had been booked on one charge of child abuse after investigators determined he “had kept a loaded gun in a location accessible to the victim.”

No other details about how the shooting occurred were made available.

“This is a horrible tragedy for the family, for this young boy, for the community,” Williams said at Wednesday night’s press conference.

“It’s a sobering reminder of the importance of gun safety. If you are a gun owner, you have a great responsibility to make sure that your guns are safe somewhere inaccessible to children or anyone else who should not have them.”

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