A 35-year-old man is under arrest and facing a felony charge after a toddler accidentally shot himself in a Fresno home over the weekend. Oscar Ramos was booked on a felony charge of criminal storage of a firearm, as well as a charge of possession of a large-capacity magazine, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said at a news conference Monday. “This was a death that was completely avoidable,” Dyer said. “We have a 2-year-old boy in our city today who is dead, a father who is grieving and will never be the same, as a result of the negligent act of one individual.” Police said officers received a call shortly after 12 p.m. on Saturday, from a woman who said a 2-year-old boy had shot himself in the head. When officers arrived at the residence in the 300 block of West Audubon Drive, they found the boy, identified as Jace Alexander, on the bedroom floor in a pool of blood. Advertisement The boy was breathing and officers attempted to stop the bleeding, Dyer said. Paramedics then transported the boy to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that afternoon. At the time of the shooting, the boy’s father was at work and had left his son in the care of his fiance, Dyer said. The fiance and Ramos, who is the couple’s roommate, told police they were in another room when they heard a loud pop from the other side of the house, he said. They said they found Jace on his bedroom floor and Ramos’ Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun on the bed. Ramos paced around the house for five to 10 minutes without calling police, before the father’s fiance took Ramos’ phone and called 911, Dyer said. Based on the gunshot wound, he said, the additional time probably would not have been enough to save the boy. Dyer said Ramos told officers he had last handled his gun Friday evening and was unsure where he placed it last. Although Ramos had a safe in his room to store the gun, the chief said, Jace’s father told police that in the past Ramos had left the gun in locations easily accessible to children. Once, the boy’s father found it in a dresser drawer in his bedroom, Dyer said. “He gave that gun back to Oscar and said, ‘Do not leave that handgun in locations in this house that can be accessed by my children,’” the chief said. Dyer said that Ramos “took full responsibility” for the boy’s death. “Until an incident like this strikes home, people do not see that there’s a potential for this to occur in their own home, with one of their own firearms,” Dyer said. “We have talked far too long about gun safety, securing firearms in a home — and yet we have another death of a child.” brittny.mejia@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia<doc-sep>A 2-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the head Saturday, and died, police said. The toddler's parents were not home during the shooting in Fresno, California, but two adults were at the house, Fresno Police Department's Rob Beck told ABC30. The Fresno Bee reports those adults were the father's fiancee and a friend. When officers arrived Saturday afternoon, the toddler was still breathing, but despite "intense life-saving efforts," doctors were unable to save him, police told Central Valley TV stations. It wasn't immediately clear who owns the firearm and why the child had it. The child was in a bedroom when he shot himself with the gun, ABC30 reports. "If you have firearms in the home, they need to be locked and out of reach of children," Beck told ABC30. California law requires guns to have an approved locking device. If a child is injured or dies from a gun that isn't safely stored, the gun owner could be found guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony. More:Child finds handgun in sofa, fires a shot in Indiana Ikea More:2 school shootings, 2 different gun debates: Unlike Parkland, Santa Fe response is more muted Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets<doc-sep>The child accidentally shot himself in the head, police said. A toddler somehow got his hands on a pistol and fatally shot himself in the head in a tragic accident in Fresno, California, on Saturday. Police told Fresno ABC station KFSN the child was in a bedroom at his home when the accidental shooting occurred. The child's parents were not home at the time, but he was being watched by family friends. "At the time that this occurred, there were two adults inside the home with the child. Neither of them are the child's parents," Fresno Police Department Lt. Rob Beck told KFSN. Police said it was unclear who owned the gun, whether it was the child's parents or the adults watching the child at the time. "You're required to, if you have firearms in the home, they need to be locked and out of reach of children," Beck told KFSN. The child was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive.<doc-sep>
A 2-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a pistol. The toddler's parents were out at the time and he was being taken care of by two other adults, believed to be family friends. The boy was in his bedroom when the shooting occurred, police told ABC station KFSN. Fresno Police Department Lieutenant Rob Beck said it was not clear who the gun belonged to. "At the time that this occurred, there were two adults inside the home with the child. Neither of them are the child's parents. "You're required to, if you have firearms in the home, they need to be locked and out of reach of children," Beck said. Police were called out to Audubon Drive on Saturday following reports of the shooting. They were given a search warrant for the property. The boy was taken to hospital but did not survive. Neighbour Wendy Kulterman told KFSN the family had lived there for around six months. She said they mostly kept to themselves but sometimes she could hear children playing. "I have grandkids and you just think I would not want this to happen," Kulterman said. "The only thing we know about them is this tragedy and that's the closest we're getting to them. It's awful." According to gunviolencearchive.org, this marks the 12th child killed by a gun in July in the U.S. Fresno Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sadly, cases of young children getting hold of guns are not uncommon. In May, a 2-year-old boy in Virginia accidentally shot himself after finding a gun in his apartment. A police officer first reported the shooting around noon on May 19 after a man and woman in a car flagged the officer down, telling him that their son had shot himself. The officer called emergency responders, who rushed the boy to the hospital. Doctors pronounced the 2-year-old dead shortly before 1 p.m. No charges have been filed in the case at this time, according to the Roanoke Police Department. In March, a 2-year-old Alabama boy shot and killed his 1-year-old brother after finding his parents' loaded 9mm pistol in their bedroom. Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste said the boys' mother had just stepped out of the house to tell their grandmother she was leaving. Moments later, the 2-year-old emerged to tell his grandmother his ears were ringing.