Police are piecing together the events that transpired before a 4-year-old fatally shot his father in Prescott Valley, Ariz., on Friday.
Justin Stanfield Thomas, 35, and his son were visiting from Phoenix and made an unannounced visit to a friend's house. Police say the boy somehow found a gun in the home's living room and accidentally fired it and a bullet hit his father, who was rushed to the hospital where he later died. The shooting happened around noon Friday.
The gun may have been accessible because the homeowner wasn't expecting the young visitor, police said.
Brandon Bonney, a spokesman for the Prescott Police Department, said the investigation will stretch into next week. He said authorities are trying to establish exactly how long the gun owner had to secure the gun once the boy was inside the house. That will help prosecutors determine if there was any possible criminal negligence on the part of the gun owner, he said.
Police say the boy is now with his mother.
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