Man Arrested after Toddler Shoots Himself

TYLER — Charles McLean, age 60, was arrested Monday on a class A misdemeanor charge of making a firearm accessible to a child. His grandson, Jaden McLean, 2, was at the Smith County bar the family owns when he found a loaded 9 mm gun and accidentally shot himself in the head. According to KETK, the incident happened September 15. Sheriff J.B. Smith says the gun was normally kept in a safe, but the grandfather had left it on an office desk following a recent disturbance — and that’s where the little boy found it. Smith says Charles McLean could get a year in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both. He’s currently free on $10,000 bond.

Jaden survived the incident after being hospitalized in Dallas; he is now home and said to be doing well. Smith adds that the McLean family has been cooperative throughout the investigation. The sheriff earlier told KTBB that Charles McLean’s son was murdered a couple of years ago in a still-unsolved case.