Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue reponded to reports of a child shot at approximately 3:34 p.m. on Sunday, December 5, 2021.
Officers arrived to the Creekside Apartments, located at 1280 Druid Road and located the child.
The 3 year-old boy was taken to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg for treatment of his injuries. He was shot in the shoulder, treated and later released from All Children’s Hospital for a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
On Thursday, December 9th, Clearwater Police announced that 25 year-old Kenneth Houston has been charged with felony culpable negligence in Sunday’s accidental shooting. He was arrested on a warrant earlier today in Hillsborough County and was booked in to the Hillsborough County Jail before being extradited to Pinellas County.
Houston had been living at the residence for a short time and brought a gun to the apartment about a week before the shooting. He was told by the father of the 3-year-old to get rid of the weapon, but did not. The child subsequently found the loaded gun and shot himself. Houston fled the apartment immediately after the shooting, taking the gun with him. The weapon has not been located.
