3-Year-Old MN Boy Shot Himself After Finding Father's Handgun: Police

HINCKLEY, MN — A 3-year-old boy is dead after finding one of his father's guns and shooting himself in the head, according to investigators. Police identified the child as Thomas Pauza-Moore, who would have turned 4 on Aug. 27.

On Tuesday just after 9 p.m., Pine County dispatch received a call from a man screaming for help because his son had shot himself. Deputies responded and provided life-saving measures, but the child was declared dead at the house, court documents state.

According to police, the father and his roommate were in the basement of the home when they heard something fall on the floor above them. Moments later they heard a gunshot. They found the child lying in the father's bedroom upstairs, authorities said.

The child had shot himself in the head with his father's 9mm handgun, according to police. Officers found a total of four firearms in the house, including an AR-15-style rifle, investigators said.

The Pine County Sheriff's Office released the following information in the shooting death, calling it a "medical incident":

Just after 9 p.m. on Aug. 8, Pine County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a medical incident at a home on the 500 block of 1st Street Southwest in Hinckley. When deputies arrived, they learned a 3-year-old child had died. The Pine County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating how the child died with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. There is no threat to the public. No additional information is available at this time.