This undated photo shows Justin Thomas who
was accidentally shot and killed by his
4-year-old son.
(MyFoxPhoenix.com)
PRESCOTT VALLEY,
Ariz. – Police aren't expected to
seek charges in the death of an Arizona man
who was accidentally shot by his 4-year-old
son, authorities said.
Justin Stanfield Thomas, 35, was fatally
shot Friday after he and his son traveled
from Phoenix to a friend's home 90 miles
away in the northern Arizona community of
Prescott Valley for a surprise visit.
The boy found the loaded gun in the home
within minutes of arrival, asked a question
about it and pulled the trigger, Prescott
Valley Police spokesman Brandon Bonney said.
Thomas later died at a hospital.
The child has been with his mother since
the day the shooting occurred.
Bonney said the gun should have been
locked away, but that Thomas' friend, whose
identity hasn't been released, was caught
off guard by the unannounced visit. No
children lived in the house.
"They're processing everything to see
where they stand with the interviews and the
crime scene investigation and see if
everything is matching up," Bonney told The
Prescott Daily Courier.
The paper described Thomas as an Army
special forces veteran who served in Iraq.
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