A Philadelphia father who said his 4-year-old son was killed in a home invasion made the whole thing up to conceal that the boy used his illegally-owned gun to accidentally shoot himself, police said.
Edward Williams Sr., 28, originally told police that his son was killed after someone broke into his home in the 2100 block of North Lambert Street in the early hours of January 30, CBS Philadelphia reported.
Police then became suspicious of Williams' version of events after seeing there were no signs of forced entry, the house was not ransacked, and Williams was not injured.
Police said Williams, who has several prior convictions, lied about the home invasion so police would not find out about the 9mm handgun that 4-year-old, Edward Williams Jr., shot himself with. Police said that while the gun did not appear stolen, it never should have been in the father's possession.
"Our investigation revealed that a home invasion did not, in fact, occur. We believe Mr. Williams made that up, probably due to the fact that he had several prior arrests," Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said, CBS Philadelphia reported.
"He's not to have possessed a firearm, therefore he attempted to conceal the circumstances."
Speaking to Fox 29, Smith said the lack of injuries on Williams' body was also a "red flag" to investigators.
"All we had was an individual saying home invasion and a 4-year-old child shot," he added.
The child's mother was at work at the time of the shooting. A 3-year-old boy who was also at home at the time was not injured.
Neighbors described their shock at the young boy's death, with a makeshift memorial including candles and teddy bears erected for the 4-year-old, CBS Philadelphia reported.
"I'm speechless. I think everybody is crying out for help, to be honest. So many hidden agendas, so many sicknesses, illnesses, people are crying out for help and this is the only way, I guess, to get it," one neighbor, who did not wish to be named, told the station.
Williams could still face criminal charges in connection to his son's death. Newseek contact Philadelphia Police Department for further comment.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 16 children under the age of 11 have been killed by a firearm so far in 2020, with another 49 also injured. There have also been 60 gun deaths involving children aged 12 to 17, with the number of injured in the same age group hitting 186, according to the data.
