A father shot and killed his 7-year-old son outside a
Pennsylvania gun store in what police described as a tragic
accident, authorities said.
The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the death as
an accidental shooting and are awaiting the results of the
results of an autopsy.
"It's just a tragedy - it's terrible," Pennsylvania State
Trooper Robert Perrine told the Los Angeles Times. He
declined to comment further.
The shooting occurred on Saturday (local time) in the parking
lot of Twigs Reloading Den in Mercer, Pa. Police said the gun
fired as Joseph Loughrey, 44, and his son Craig were entering
their vehicle.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Loughrey told
police he had emptied the magazine of his 9-millimeter Taurus
handgun, and he didn't know there was a bullet in the
chamber. The gun discharged and his son was struck in the
chest.
State police said Loughrey was cooperative and distraught
during questioning, the newspaper reported.
"I know that little kid was everything to him," Mark
McLaughlin, Loughrey's friend and co-worker, told the
newspaper.
State Police Lt. Eric Hermick told the Tribune-Review that
the man could face such charges as manslaughter and
negligence.
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