ST PAUL, Minn — A 34-year-old man is charged after his 11-year-old son was shot in the head by a teen playing with a gun Friday night in St. Paul.
Martinez Castillo Lloyd has been charged with illegally possessing a firearm and negligent storage of a firearm after court documents say the 11-year-old was shot by a 13-year-old girl while they were playing with guns owned by Lloyd. Officials say the 11-year-old old remains in critical condition.
Prosecutors say Lloyd's two children, along with five other kids, were visiting his apartment when he left shortly before 9 p.m. to go to a store. At one point, Lloyd's 11-year-old son and 13-year-old niece went into his room and grabbed a .9mm semiautomatic and a revolver that were both allegedly being stored in a "higher up unlocked drawer in a closet that the juveniles can easily reach," according to court documents.
The two children told investigators that they had played with the guns before when Lloyd wasn't around, saying that they're generally unloaded. Lloyd told police he kept the guns for protection, and that he usually took the bullets out before he would put them in the cabinet. The criminal complaint says Lloyd admitted to seeing the kids playing with the guns before and would tell them to put them back.
The 13-year-old told investigators that she last played with the guns the previous weekend, according to court documents. On Friday, she said she was "waving and playing" with the revolver when it went off and the victim was hit in the face. According to the criminal complaint, the .9mm was also loaded and the safety was on.
After the 11-year-old was shot, court documents say the other kids carried the boy to the kitchen to give him some water. They tried walking the boy out of the apartment, but he collapsed. Police eventually arrived, according to the criminal complaint, and the 13-year-old was taken into custody. Court documents say as she was being taken into custody, the 13-year-old stated that "I accidentally shot somebody" and "I didn't know the gun was loaded."
In a statement, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry called the incident "tragic and infuriating."
"All of us have a responsibility to do everything we can to prevent things like this from happening...everything," he said, in part. "If you're not supposed to have guns, don't have guns. If you have guns, you have a duty and a responsibility to keep them safe and away from those who shouldn't have them."
Lloyd had a prior felony conviction for third-degree sale of a controlled substance, which is considered a crime of violence, therefore he's not allowed to own a firearm, according to court documents. Lloyd's first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2.
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