Kentucky father charged after 4-year-old son accidentally shoots himself
A 23-year-old Louisville man has been charged after his 4-year-old son found a gun and shot himself in the arm Tuesday, police said.
The child was taken to UofL Health’s Southwest Hospital at about 8 a.m. Tuesday in a private vehicle and then transferred to Norton Children’s Hospital. He is expected to recover, according to statement from the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The boy’s father, Jacob Mosley, told Louisville police he was in the shower at his home on Mango Court when he heard a “pop” and came out to find his son shot, according to a police uniform citation. Mosley told police the gun was in a nightstand, while the child told police it was on the bed, the citation states.
Mosley was arrested and charged with first-degree wanton endangerment; second-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 years old or under and second-degree assault, domestic violence, according to online court records.
He was being held Tuesday night in the Jefferson County Detention Center. Court records show Mosley is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Jefferson District Court.
A bill filed in the Kentucky General Assembly last month by Rep. George Brown Jr., D-Lexington, would make it a misdemeanor to recklessly leave a gun unsecured in a home or vehicle where a child could get it.
Under House Bill 120, the offense would carry a penalty of up to 90 days in jail, or up to a year in jail if the child used the gun to shoot someone.
Similar bills have been filed in the state legislature for years, but they have never been brought before a committee for a hearing.
A 2017 Herald-Leader analysis found that over the previous five years, at least 36 Kentucky children had accidentally shot themselves or another child with a loaded gun left within reach or given to them by an adult.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
