Baby Grazed By Bullet After Bath Time In East Nashville 'Freak Accident'; Father Charged

EAST NASHVILLE, TN — A 1-year-old boy is recovering after a bullet grazed his face in a bizarre post-bath-time incident at the James Cayce Homes early Wednesday morning.

The boy's father, Tommy Washington, told police he had given the boy and three other children and he lost sight of the toddler, who wandered into a bedroom where two handguns were laying on the bed. He heard a gunshot and saw that his son had been shot. Police said Washington asked a neighbor to ride with him to the hospital, but his van overheated on the way to Skyline Medical Center. An ambulance met the boy and his father at the Krystal on Trinity Lane where he had stopped to call 911 and the youngster was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His injuries are not life-threatening.

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Police investigated for about nine hours and say they seized two pistols, including the .380 which is believed to be the one that caused the injury. Washington was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated child neglect.

The child's grandmother told WKRN that it was a "freak accident" and that her son is a "loving, caring" father. Neighbors told Fox 17 that the father is a "good man."

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