Father of Toddler Who Shot Himself Charged

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- A Hall County man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after his 21-month-old son found a loaded handgun in the man's home and accidentally shot himself to death.

Hall County Sheriff's Col. Jeff Strickland says the father, 33-year-old Raley A. Lane, was in the same room when the boy shot himself on Saturday. Strickland says the father rushed his son to a hospital but the child died after being flown to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.

The Times of Gainesville reports that Strickland says sheriff's officers arrested Lane and charged him with involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct. He was being held at the Hall County Jail.

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