CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) - The father of a 21-month-old Missouri boy who fatally shot himself was charged Friday with two felonies for allegedly leaving a loaded gun where the child could get it and removing the weapon and shell casing after the shooting.
St. Louis County prosecutors charged Corey Epps, 26, with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and another charge of tampering with evidence. Police, who had been searching for him since the shooting last month, announced Epps' arrest on Thursday.
He is jailed on $50,000 cash-only bond.
His son, Carter Epps, died on Aug. 25, after finding a gun and shooting himself in the torso. His mother drove him to a hospital, where he died.
A police probable cause statement said Corey Epps left a loaded semi-automatic handgun in a place where the child could reach it, in a room where he often played. The statement accused Epps of removing the gun and shell casing before police arrived.
Carter's mother was originally arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, but she was released last week. Prosecutors said at the time that there wasn't enough evidence to charge her, but said the investigation was ongoing.
The shooting happened at a home in Hanley Hills in north St. Louis County. Authorities say it is the home of the child's grandmother.