Seminole County Sheriff's Office/PAA drunk Florida man shot a seven-year-old boy who was playing with a Nerf gun.
Anthony Knuth, from Sanford, was in his home on Saturday night, November 30, at 9.00pm when a mother and three kids visited his home.
Soon after, while the kids were playing with Nerf guns, the mum heard a pop in the living room – Knuth had shot a child.
Check out the local news report below:
According to Fox 35 Orlando, the mum told officers that after she left her children and a friend’s child playing with Nerf guns alone with Knuth – described as her friend’s brother – she heard a loud pop no more than 10 minutes later.
According to the arrest affidavit, the woman then entered the living room to find her son bleeding from the knee – the other children said that ‘Anthony shot him’.
After seeing the kids playing with the toy guns, Knuth reportedly bragged about having a real weapon – and that he was going to load it with a real bullet. After firing the gun and injuring the boy, Knuth allegedly said he knew he was going to jail and that he had shot a kid.
Fox 35 OrlandoThe young boy was reportedly shot below the left kneecap, causing an open fracture. After being rushed to AdventHealth Lake Mary hospital, doctors found a projectile which appeared to be from a .22 calibre firearm, with surgery being required to fix the damage.
Police officers then responded to the emergency room shortly after midnight on Sunday, December 1. Knuth was arrested not long after, appearing at court the next day.
While in custody, Knuth said he’d had numerous shots of Southern Comfort that night and went to bed. While he said he did not recall the shooting take place, he conceded that he was intoxicated and if it did happen, it was only an accident.
Seminole County Sheriff's OfficeSince his live-in girlfriend died in April, Knuth’s sister said her brother’s alcoholism has only gotten worse.
Knuth’s sister, Heidi Netti, told WFTV 9:
From what I understand, he showed the kid the gun, then loaded it and then shot him in his calf. Unfortunately, when my brother gets drunk, he is wacko.
Knuth was charged with neglect of a child with great bodily harm and with using a firearm while under the influence. He is currently being held in Seminole County Jail on $15,263 bail.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.