2-Year-Old Boy Finds Loaded Gun in Truck Seat and Fatally Shoots Himself, Father Charged

North Carolina man Warren Tyler Oser is facing criminal charges after his two-year-old son fatally shot himself with his father’s handgun.

Per ABC11, Oser has been charged with failure to properly and safely store his firearms to protect minors after two-year-old Warren Bennett Oser reportedly climbed into a pick-up truck, picked up a loaded handgun, and shot himself. When investigators arrived at the scene, they discovered the child with a gunshot wound and took him to a nearby hospital. He was later pronounced dead from his wounds.

It is believed that the two-year-old climbed through an open door, and began to play with the loaded handgun after he found it in the cab. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office described the fatal incident as an “unfortunate accident.” Both of Warren’s parents were present when police arrived at the scene.

A GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the child’s funeral has reached its $20,000 target. “No words can describe the pain or ease it all. I’ve started this with their permission in hopes to ease their financial burden,” reads the campaign, which was launched by family friend Joy Kennedy Johnson. “Please help in their time if need if you can. Bennett was always the life of the party! Our hearts and prayers go out to them!”

In an online obituary, the child was described as a “free spirit with a wild soul.” “Every single day, he would go down his list of favorite people to try and visit,” the obituary added. “Though his life was brief, his spirit and memory lives on in his family and friends. We are grateful and blessed that God chose us to be his parents and let us watch over him for even the short amount of time that he had on Earth.”