Weeks after baby boy was shot, police say his father pulled the trigger

The 4-month-old baby shot in the ankle outside a southwest Charlotte apartment complex on New Year’s Day is going to be fine, and the shooter has been identified, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police announced Wednesday.

The baby’s father accidentally shot his son while walking with the boy and his mother, who was grazed by the bullet, police said. The father has not been charged, and CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano said he was remorseful and upset when he talked with police.

“I think there was some fear on the part of the dad that if he (did) speak up...DSS would have gotten involved and taken the child away,” Tufano said. “That’s why they weren’t as forthright as they probably should have been on the front end.”

Initially, police said only that they didn’t believe the baby and his mother had been targeted. CMPD officers went on extra patrols in the area to help reassure worried neighbors, Tufano said.

The gun was registered to another family member, not the baby’s father, Tufano said. The father told police he was carrying the gun indoors so that it wouldn’t be left in a car, and he was taking it out of his pocket when it fired, Tufano said.

The Department of Social Services is involved with the case, police said.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Weeks after baby boy was shot, police say his father pulled the trigger."