Man charged after 2-year-old shot in the hand in Dayton

The Dayton Municipal Court building on West Third Street in downtown Dayton. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

The Dayton Municipal Court building on West Third Street in downtown Dayton. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

A Dayton man was charged after his 2-year-old son was shot in the hand last week.

Theodore E. Bryant III, 34, is facing one count of endangering children in Dayton Municipal Court.

Around 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, Dayton police responded to Dayton Children’s Hospital for a toddler with a possible gunshot wound to his left index finger.

Theodore E. Bryant III. Photo courtesy Miami Valley Jails.

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During the investigation police learned the boy was with his father and a sibling at their Neal Avenue apartment when he was injured, according to court records.

Officers went to the apartment and found blood as well as a bullet hole in a mirror and bedroom wall.

“During an interview with Mr. Bryant he gave several locations where his firearm was, ultimately stating he kept it in a closet,” an affidavit read. “Mr. Bryant later admitted he put the firearm on the wrong shelf, the third or second shelf, not the top.”

The gun was loaded and not in a locked box, according to court documents. Crews found the gun with dried blood on it in the closet.

Bryant was reportedly sleeping when the boy woke him up and indicated his finger was hurt.

Bryant tried to rinse his son’s injury. The boy’s mother arrived at home and they took him to Kettering Health Dayton, where he was transferred to Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Bryant is being held in the Montgomery County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon.

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