Police arrested an Indiana man Saturday after his son was seen on live TV alone and waving a loaded handgun in the hallway of an apartment complex.
The son of Shane Osborne, 45, was shown on the REELZ docuseries, “On Patrol: Live,” wandering around the hallway of an apartment complex, waving a handgun and wearing nothing but a pull-up, WTHR reported.
Toddler waves loaded gun on CCTV from Indiana apartment block.
The child’s father, who owns the gun, was later arrested on camera as a reality TV show about local policing was being filmed.
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Neighbor Nicole Summers alerted the police to the situation after her son opened the door of their apartment and informed her there was a “baby with a gun,” according to WTHR. Summers, who reportedly sells guns for a living, immediately recognized the child had a real gun in his hands and called the police whose investigation of the situation was played out in real time for viewers nation-wide.
“It’s almost incomprehensible what you’re watching,” Beech Grove Deputy Police Chief Robert Mercuri told the outlet. “I saw it the next day and even though I knew the outcome, as I’m watching the video, I was still scared. You find yourself catching your breath. I don’t know how you can’t watch that video, parent or non-parent, and not be shocked and disturbed.”
Osborne reportedly told police that he had gone to bed sick when his 4-year-old son got out of the apartment. After denying having a gun at home due to previous felonies, officers found the handgun in the back of a roll-top desk with 15 rounds in the magazine and none in the chamber, according to WTHR.
“When we saw the video of him pulling the trigger and knowing that … he had pointed that … gun at my son? It was traumatic. We were lucky to see him, to find him and we were so blessed that gun was not chambered or that baby could be dead,” Summers told the outlet. (RELATED: REPORT: 18-Month Old Shoots, Kills 5-Year Old After Gun Left Unattended)
Osborne was arrested and charged with felony child neglect, according to local reports. Police said that because of his previous record there is the potential he could face more charges. The Department of Child Services is also investigating the incident.
The toddler was placed in the care of his mother, who told WTHR that seeing her son with the gun was “scary” but asserted Osborne was a “good father.”
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley told the outlet he was “mortified” by the situation and was “thankful” no one was injured in the incident.
“I appreciate the quick action taken by the Beech Grove Police Department to secure the small child and the gun in question,” Buckley continued. “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.”
