Father Gets Arrested for Endangering a Child After Son Shoots Himself and He Runs Over Child

On Friday evening, San Angelo LIVE! reported on two young children injured in two separate incidents that occurred inside an apartment and parking lot at the Vistas at Red Creek Apartments, 5751 Green Hill.

Today, the San Angelo Police Department said Andrew Crittenden, 26, father of the 7-year-old male who shot himself, and who accidentally ran over a 5-year-old attempting to get the boy to the hospital, was arrested and booked into the Tom Green County Jail for Endangering a Child-Criminal Negligence.

Officer Tracy Gonzalez, public information officer for SAPD, said officers were dispatched to the complex around 7:30 p.m. for reports of a child struck by a vehicle and a child shooting victim. At the scene, officers located a 7-year-old male gunshot victim and a 5-year-old male who had been struck by a vehicle in the parking lot. During the field investigation, officers learned these two separate incidents were connected.

Gonzalez said the 7-year-old gunshot victim allegedly shot himself in the leg while playing with a handgun inside an apartment. The boy gained access to the handgun from Crittenden. The father told police he thought the gun had been emptied of live rounds before he handed the gun to his son.

Officers learned Crittenden accidentally struck a 5-year-old male victim in the parking lot when he attempted to transport his injured son to the hospital by private vehicle. Traffic investigators later determined the child ran out into the passenger’s side of Crittenden’s 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck while Crittenden was attempting to exit the apartment complex.

Gonzalez said Crittenden’s son was transported to Shannon Medical Center by ambulance, treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg, and later released. The 5-year-old was transported to San Angelo Community Medical Center, treated for minor injuries, and released.

Detectives with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, Crime Scene Investigations Section, and Child Protective Services responded to assist with the investigation.

Detective Jason Chegwidden is the lead investigator for this case.