A Pennsylvania father has been arrested after his toddler shot himself with a gun that was lying on his bed.

Luis Marin was arrested on charges of felony endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person when he allegedly left a loaded firearm on his bed, resulting in his son taking it and shooting himself.

He grabbed the boy and ran outside, applying pressure to the wound. Just as he was exiting the house, the boy’s mother arrived home and the pair rushed to Pottstown Hospital. The boy was transferred to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where staff told cops the toddler had been shot causing injuries that included broken ribs, a fractured scapula and damage to his left lung.

The boy’s skin had also been burned and stippled which suggested the gun had pressed against or made close contact with his skin when it was fired.

An investigation found that just before the shooting, Marin went into a bedroom to get a crossbody bag to lend to his nephew. The bag normally held Marin’s two handguns and ear protection, which Marin took out the bag and put on the bed. He then gave the bag to his nephew who left the house.

“This shooting is a frightening reminder to parents that children, even very young children, can and do find unsecured firearms in a home, and their inclination is to play with them,” said District Attorney Kevin Steele. “Thankfully, this two-year-old boy survived the shooting.”

Marin handed himself over to the police on September 25 and was subsequently arraigned. His bail was set at $50,000 unsecured, with a stipulation that no firearms be kept in his residence. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for October 8, 2024. Should he be found guilty of the charges, Marin could be facing five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The news of the shooting comes after a 15-year-old student in Georgia was shot and killed the moment he stepped off of his school bus last week. Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan identified the 15-year-old Earkavion Lee as the victim of the shooting that occurred at 4:30pm. Lee reportedly succumbed to his injuries and died about 45 minutes later.

Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson condemned the killing and said that the teenager should have been “safe.” He said: “There’s something extra wrong about this. This kid was getting off the school bus where he was supposed to be safe.”

Reports indicate that Lee was a ninth-grader at Kendrick High School. Police have yet to make any arrests surrounding the shooting and said that the investigation into what happened remains ongoing. Henderson, who said that he was shocked by the uptick in violent crimes, claimed that they “won’t rest” until the perpetrators of the crime have been caught.

In a sad twist, the killing came a few months after Lee’s brother, Earkus Porter, was also shot at an area park in February and subsequently died.