A father spent most of the weekend in jail after his young son was seen on security video waving a loaded gun around an Indiana apartment complex, authorities said Monday.
Shane E. Osborne, 45, was arrested Saturday night after the boy waved what police said was a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun missing a cartridge to fully load, police said in Beech Grove.
Osborne was booked into a local jail on suspicion of clerk neglect, according to a police report and information from inmates. The charge is a felony. No bail was posted.
It is unclear what police believe his role in the incident was, as they had not yet offered a full narrative. No defense attorney was listed in Osborne’s inmate records, and the state public defender’s office said he would decline to comment until the court officially appoints an attorney to represent him.
Officers obtained security video from Ring Video Doorbell, which shows the child, a toddler or preschooler in a training diaper, playfully moving around a second-level landing of an apartment complex with the weapon.
At first, the boy quickly moves toward a ladder and points the gun downhill for a moment, the video shows. He then backs up to the higher level units and points the gun at the apartment doors before giving it a partial twist with one finger so that the barrel is pointing up, he shows.
The boy returns to a unit, puts the gun in his left hand and opens the door with his right before entering.
Officers responding to the report of the child with a weapon were recorded for immediate broadcast on «On Patrol: Live» on the Reelz cable network.
The network provided video of the response, including narration from a downstairs neighbor suggesting the boy was interacting with his son as he approached the edge of the stairs and looked down.
«My son opened the door, and the little boy upstairs was standing there with a gun,» the woman, who was not identified, said as she stood in the open doorway. «I was like, ‘Shut the door, he’s got a gun.'»
The neighbor said she looked through the peephole in the front door and saw the boy standing upstairs with the gun strapped to his back.
An arriving officer, identified by «On Patrol: Live» as Sgt. Zach Horgan asked the woman if the gun had an orange tip, like a toy.
«No, no,» he said, stating that it was real. «She’s chrome, black, she looked like a big 45. I sell guns.»
Another unidentified neighbor said the same thing, telling police, according to the show, «That’s not a toy.»
The boy’s name was not released because he is a minor.
The department’s incident report lists the child’s residence and the parent’s residence as the same unit. A woman with the same last name as the suspect lives in a separate apartment, according to the report. Her age, 63, might be consistent with that of a grandparent.
Several neighbors were interviewed as part of the investigation, according to the report.
Police described the weapon as a 9mm model SD9 VE pistol that had a loaded 15-round magazine but no rounds in its chamber. The weapon, introduced last decade, includes a frame made of polymer, the same kind of material used in illicit ghost weapons.
However, the Smith & Wesson firearm also includes a stainless steel barrel and slide. Its weight of 22.7 ounces is pretty standard.
Osborne was due to appear in court on Thursday, the state public defender’s office said.
matthew kills Y melanie kucera contributed.