Middletown father indicted after 5-year-old shot himself

A Middletown father has been indicted by a Butler County grand jury after his son accidently shot himself with a gun police say was left in a bedroom of the home.

Fernando Enamorado, 31, was indicted Wednesday for endangering children, a third-degree felony. He originally also was charged with drug offenses, but the grand jury did not return indictments on those charges.

On April 27, Middletown police officers were called to a residence in the 800 block of 10th Avenue for a report of a gunshot wound, according to Sgt. Earl Nelson.

Police found a 5-year-old boy who had a gunshot wound to the leg. The child was taken to the Atrium Medical Center for treatment and flown to an area children’s hospital.

The investigation determined the boy was playing with a gun he found in his father’s bedroom, and he accidentally shot himself in the leg, police said.

Middletown detectives said Enamorado was away from his house for about a hour when the boy shot himself in the right leg with a 9 millimeter handgun. The boy’s 14-year-old brother and two other juveniles were in the house at the time.

Defense attorney Frank Schiavone III said Enamorado is overwhelmed with regret.

“He knows this whole thing was just a tick away from a dead child,” Schiavone said. Enamorado and his brother left the house to go to Lowe’s to get equipment for their business. The teen was left in charge.

“He got a call at Lowe’s from home that this had happened and immediately called 911,” Schiavone said, and added Enamorado had a CCW permit for the gun, but it was not secured when he left the house. “It was a terrible accident, they had been told never to go into dad’s bedroom.”

Schiavone said the child has recovered and there was no permanent damage from the injury.

Enamorado admitted to detectives he left the gun unsecured inside the bedroom when he left the home, according to Middletown Municipal Court documents. He is free on bond.

The case is assigned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster but an arraignment date has not been set.

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