Investigators say an Anderson toddler was killed after he began playing with a loaded gun belonging to a sheriff’s deputy.
Anderson County Sheriff’s Office declined to name the deputy involved, but Deputy Coroner Don McCown said the deputy had just gotten home to a trailer at the Colony Mobile Home Park and left the gun on the bedroom counter while he ran errands.
The Associated Press reported that Josiah Tate, 2, was home with his mother at the time when he apparently found the gun and began playing with it. Before the mother could stop him, the gun fired.
Sheriff John Skipper said the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division would investigate the shooting because it happened at a deputy’s home. Skipper said he believed Tate’s mother was the deputy’s girlfriend, but that the toddler was not directly related to him.
Tom Hayes contributed to this report
