A father was arrested after his four-year-old son was seen waving a loaded handgun outside their apartment on camera.
Shocking surveillance footage from a neighbor's Ring doorbell camera revealed an unsupervised toddler wandering the halls of a complex in Beech Grove, Indiana in a diaper while waving the firearm.
The clip - which was broadcast on the reality TV show On Patrol: Live which follows police officers on duty - showed the child pulling the trigger at one point but no bullets were fired, per Sky News.
After assessing the harrowing incident, a neighbor reportedly called the police and this led to law enforcement making their way to 45-year-old father Shane Osborne's home where he was asked about the gun-waving baby.
Check out the video below:According to WTHR, the dad told officers that he was ill and asleep when his child left the home during the broadcast. He also said that he didn’t have a gun in the apartment as he had previously been convicted of felony theft and forgery, per Buzzfeed News.
"I don’t have a gun," Osborne reportedly said after police entered his apartment, according to a release from the show obtained by CNN. "I have never brought a gun into this house, if there is, it’s my cousin's."
However, the outlet disclosed that the cops proceeded to search the apartment and eventually discovered a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun under a television in the living room.
Later in the docuseries, the police were seen taking the man out of his home in handcuffs. And, the publication reported that a member of the police force said there was enough evidence for an arrest of "child neglect, that’s a felony," after speaking with prosecutors because there was a loaded firearm in the apartment.
Buzzfeed News reported that Zach Horgan - a sergeant with the Beech Grove Police Department - stated that there hadn't been a bullet in the gun's chamber, but the magazine was full of ammo.
"This kid could've hurt himself, hurt his dad, or hurt a lot of other people because this gun was loaded," the Beech Grove officer explained.
In a statement to Fox 59, Beech Grove mayor Dennis B. Buckley also added that he was "mortified [about] what took place" and is "so thankful that no one was hurt, especially the young child".
"I appreciate the quick action taken by the Beech Grove Police Department to secure the small child and the gun in question," Buckley said.
"I ask that the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office work tirelessly to secure charges and a conviction against the responsible parties, with maximum penalties. Society shouldn’t accept anything less," he added.
The New York Post shared that the child was allegedly returned to his mother - whom he lives with - and that the father was taken into custody.
Osborne is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon (January 17). It has not been disclosed if he had an attorney.
