HOUSTON – A man has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies connected to the accidental self-shooting of a child in an apartment complex in southeast Houston.
OUR FIRST REPORT: 4-year-old boy in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself in head in SE Houston
Nicholas Zepeda-Quintanilla, 27, has been charged with felony counts of injury to a child and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The incident happened shortly before 1 p.m. Monday at the SageHollow Apartments in the 10700 block of Fuqua Street.
The four-year-old boy got ahold of the firearm and accidentally shot himself in the head.
According to court records, the weapon was placed on a shelf where the child could reach it. The gun was loaded and not secured by a trigger lock.
The records say Zepeda-Quintanilla had bought the gun for the child’s mother. Both Zepeda-Quintanilla and the child’s mother claim they went to sleep and the gun was stored in the closet. They awoke to a loud “ring” noise before finding the child on the floor with a gunshot wound.
Court records also revealed that Zepeda-Quintanilla had a previous felony conviction of assault on a security officer from 2021, a conviction that prevented him from legally owning a firearm for five years after his release from parole supervision in Nov. 2022.
During probable cause court, it was revealed that Zepeda-Quintanilla was out on bond for an unrelated charge where he’s accused of speeding away from police.
The boy’s mother and her boyfriend were detained after the incident.
Authorities confirmed with KPRC 2 that Zepeda-Quintanilla was the mother’s boyfriend.
Houston Police say the boy remains in critical condition.
Zepeda-Quintanilla is due back in court Wednesday morning.
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