Police: Florida father left guns around his kids; then a 1-year-old shot his toddler brother

A young father was arrested Tuesday after Tallahassee police say he left unsecured guns around his two toddler sons and one was accidentally shot and killed earlier this month.

Jevin Randle, 20, was arrested on charges of leaving a loaded firearm accessible to a minor. He is currently being held in the Leon County Detention Facility.

According to court documents, Randle had just finished bathing his two 1-year-olds and was in his mother's room watching TV as the boys left the room to go play in his bedroom.

The children became quiet when he heard a "pop" come from the room, according to the documents. He ran into the room and found the victim on the floor and his other son by the gun.

"Jevin reported that his children knew not to play with firearms and that, although they are infants, they know right from wrong," the document says. "Jevin stated that the children were 'unoccupied for too long which is my fault, I apologize.'"

A neighbor who was outside the apartment talking with Randle's mother at the time of the shooting said he ran out of the house with his son in his arms and said he needed to go to the hospital.

Randle and his mother took off to the hospital but had Emergency Medical Services meet them along the way. The shooting occurred at the Grove Park Apartments in east Tallahassee.

Footage from interior video cameras show that Randle was in his mother's room, Randle's brother was in the living room playing video games, his mother was outside talking with the neighbor and the two toddlers were alone in the back bedroom, according to court documents.

"There is sufficient evidence to support that ... the minor obtained and used the firearm to inflict injury or death upon another 1-year-old," the document says.

Firearm safety at home: 5 tips to keep your kids safe with guns in the house

Randle told police he had the guns as a safety measure because the day before, a group of masked men were walking around the apartment complex with a gun and crowbar, which was also captured on his mother's surveillance footage.

When officers searched the room they found the handgun used in the accidental shooting and an unsecured pistol under the bed, along with "firearm accessories and ammunition throughout the bedroom."

This incident is one of five accidental shootings since the start of the month. Four of the shootings involved children or minors and claimed the lives of three people.

The slew of accidental shootings comes as a summer surge of gun violence weighs on the capital city and county. So far this year, there have been at least 70 serious shootings leading to 19 deaths — 14 of them since June — and at least 56 injuries, according to a Tallahassee Democrat analysis of gun violence.

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on Twitter @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee police: Dad faces charges after toddler shoots 1-year-old