Charlotte police officer charged after 3-year-old son accidentally shoots self with father’s gun
Union County NC July 22 2020 A Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer was charged after his 3-year-old son was accidentally shot while going in a dresser to get something for his father.
The 3-year-old Indian Trail boy was accidentally shot in his left-hand Saturday morning after his father asked him to get a pair of socks from a dresser drawer.
The child went into his father’s bedroom and opened the drawer to get the socks when he was injured from an unsecured 9 mm handgun that his father forgot was in the drawer.
After hearing the gunshot, the boy’s parents ran into the bedroom and realized what happened.
They immediately rushed the child to Novant Matthews for treatment. Hospital security notified the Union County Sheriff’s Office after determining the incident happened in Indian Trail at the family home.
Deputies, detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the hospital as well as the home where the incident occurred.
The investigation revealed that the gun was a Sig Sauer P320 X-Five Legion and was a personal handgun belonging to the child’s father,
Timothy Justin O’Lear, 32, is an officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
O’Lear routinely kept the firearm in a locked gun safe but had recently relocated it to a sock drawer as an added security measure for his wife during the times he was at work.
All of the evidence suggests that the incident was an accident.
Union County Sheriff’s detectives have charged O’Lear with a violation of NC General Statute 14-315.1, the Storage of Firearms to Protect Minors law, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
“This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of securing firearms, regardless of who the weapon belongs to. It only takes a second for someone to be seriously injured or even worse. We are very thankful this child’s injuries were not life threatening and we certainly appreciate the full cooperation of Mr. O’Lear and his family but are left with no choice, under the circumstances, to file this charge,” Sheriff Eddie Cathey stated.
CMPD says Officer O’Lear has been placed on administrative assignment, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and a CMPD internal investigation. Officer O’Lear was hired by the CMPD on June 24, 2019.
