A Jefferson City man has been charged with accidentally shooting his child Tuesday morning.
Phillip Lumas Sr., 45, is charged with felony second-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Officers were called to a residence in the 600 block of Linn Street just before 2:30 a.m., according to a Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement.
The victim was an 8-year-old child. The child was initially taken to Capital Region Medical Center and later transferred to University Hospital in Columbia. As of Wednesday, authorities said the child was in stable condition.
A search of the residence reportedly turned up a loaded Ruger 9mm pistol on the floor of the master bedroom. On the floor next to the pistol was a spent 9mm shell casing matching those found in the pistol.
A 6-year-old witness stated Lumas had shot the 8-year-old. Police said they later learned the boy was Lumas' child.
Lumas' wife told officers Lumas had gone into the bedroom alone and closed the door behind him. She said that was his normal nightly routine, as he removed and secured his pistol before putting it in their nightstand.
Lumas' wife stated she had heard the 8-year-old knock on the bedroom door and heard Lumas tell the child to enter. Lumas and the child were talking in the bedroom, but Lumas' wife said she couldn't hear their conversation because she was downstairs at the time.
A few moments later, Lumas' wife told officers, she heard a single gunshot in the master bedroom. This was immediately followed by Lumas running into the living room with the 8-year-old in his arms and saying he had accidentally shot their child. She said they immediately drove to Capital Region Medical Center while they called 911.
Officers spoke to Lumas outside the hospital, and he allegedly admitted to accidentally shooting his child while trying to put the gun away for the evening.
Lumas said the children were asking about his pistols and he had given them a brief lesson on gun safety as he was handling the Ruger pistol. Lumas claimed he had turned his attention to the TV and believed both children had left the room, then he began his evening routine of removing the magazine from the pistol, racking the round from the chamber and dry firing the gun as he does every night. As Lumas began this unloading procedure, he said, the 8-year-old startled him as he turned and the pistol fired, striking the child in the chest.
Officers said Lumas was visibly upset and kept apologizing during his interview. Officers also noted Lumas did not have a criminal history, showed no signs of intoxication and legally possessed a firearm at the time of this incident.