An Olyphant man faces felony charges after his three-year-old daughter was accidentally shot in their home Tuesday morning.
Kristopher Sheerer, 26, told police he believed the girl found his handgun in a backpack, Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher said.
The girl is in stable condition and is expected to survive, Gallagher said Tuesday.
Details about the shooting
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case:
Police were called to 633 East Lackawanna Ave. at 7:58 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a three-year-old shooting victim.
An Olyphant Borough officer who was first on the scene began giving the child aid until medical personnel arrived.
The child was then transported to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, where she underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the inner thigh. Sheerer is the registered owner of the 9mm handgun, investigators determined.
Police said Sheerer told them he was at home with the girl and his one-year-old son while their mother, Samantha Bruno, was at work.
Sheerer allegedly told police he went upstairs to smoke, heard a gunshot, and returned to find his daughter bleeding.
Police said Sheerer told them and 911 that he keeps his guns in a backpack, and she must have gotten into them.
Investigators said they expected Sheerer would test positive for marijuana if tested because he smoked it two weeks ago at a party with his brother.
Sheerer faces two felony child endangerment charges and two misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges.
He was arraigned before District Judge Sean P. McGraw, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing was set for 10:15 a.m. Nov. 5 before McGraw.
