INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — The 3-year-old son of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer was shot in the hand after investigators say the boy reached into a dresser drawer to grab a pair of socks.
Deputies with the Union County Sheriff’s Office say the handgun belonged to the child’s father, 32-year-old Officer Timothy O’Lear. The gun was a personal weapon and not his service issued handgun, according to a news release. Officials say O’Lear routinely kept the firearm in a locked gun safe but had recently relocated it to a sock drawer as an added security measure for his wife during the times he was at work.
The child was taken to Novant Matthews for treatment where the hospital notified the Union County Sheriff’s Office. The child’s injuries were not life threatening.
Detectives have since charged O’Lear with failure to properly store a firearm to protect minors, according to a news release.
