Father Of NJ Boy, 4, Who Shot Himself Charged: Police

PEMBERTON, NJ — The father of a 4-year-old boy who died after accidentally shooting himself in his home has been charged in connection with his death, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Andrew Mack, 31 of Pemberton, has been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and storage of firearms if minors may have access, a disorderly persons offense.

His first court appearance is set for Thursday, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Pemberton Township Police Chief David H. Jantas. His case will then be presented to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Mack was asleep in his bedroom with a loaded 9mm next to him on his bed when his son, Lincoln, entered the room on Feb. 7, according to the prosecutor’s office. Lincoln picked up the gun and took it with him into another room where he had been playing with his younger sister and shot himself in the face, the prosecutor’s office said.

Pemberton police and emergency medical technicians responding to the family’s home in the Browns Mills section of the township shortly after 7 p.m. found the child with a gunshot wound to his cheek, the prosecutor’s office said.

He was taken to Capital Health at Deborah — Emergency Services, where he was pronounced dead at about 8 p.m., the prosecutor’s office said. Both parents and both siblings were home at the time of the shooting, according to the prosecutor’s office.

“The death of Lincoln Mack was a tragedy, and it was made all the worse by the fact that it was entirely avoidable,” Coffina said. “Our deepest sympathies are with the Mack family and all of those who loved Lincoln, however, the defendant must be held accountable for not securing his firearm.”

See related: Parents Home When NJ Boy, 4, Shot Himself: PD