Authorities said the child found the handgun inside a vehicle while his father was distracted by a payment problem.
BARTOW, Fla. — A 3-year-old boy died Thursday after authorities said he found his father’s handgun inside a vehicle parked outside a Burger King in Bartow and accidentally fired it while his father was trying to resolve a problem paying for dinner.
The shooting happened shortly after 6:20 p.m. Oct. 22 at a Burger King on Van Fleet Drive, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. The boy was rushed to Lakeland Regional Health, where he was pronounced dead at about 7:30 p.m. Authorities said the child was four days away from his fourth birthday.
Judd said the father had entered the restaurant’s drive-thru to buy dinner when his credit card would not work. He moved the vehicle into a parking area and began trying to resolve the payment issue. Investigators said the father was carrying a Glock handgun in his waistband and removed it because it became uncomfortable as he bent over inside the vehicle.
The father placed the firearm somewhere inside the vehicle, although Judd said the distraught man could not immediately remember exactly where he had put it. The boy was in the back seat and apparently gained access to the gun while his father was focused on the payment problem, according to the preliminary investigation.
Authorities said the firearm discharged while the child was handling it, causing a fatal injury. Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed the father suddenly getting out of the vehicle after hearing the gunfire and moving frantically around the car. A woman in a nearby vehicle got out and called 911, Judd said.
Emergency crews transported the boy to the hospital, where medical personnel tried to save him. Authorities have not publicly identified the child or his parents. The family had moved to Florida from Connecticut about four months earlier, Judd said during a news conference after the shooting.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is assisting the Bartow Police Department with the investigation. Judd said detectives were reviewing the circumstances surrounding how the child obtained the firearm and would provide their findings to the State Attorney’s Office.
Florida law includes provisions addressing culpable negligence involving a loaded firearm left within a minor’s reach when the child uses it and causes injury or death. Judd said authorities cannot make an immediate charging decision under the circumstances and that prosecutors will review the completed investigation.
Judd said the initial evidence did not lead investigators to recommend criminal charges against the father, though he stressed that the investigation was not complete and that prosecutors would ultimately help determine whether charges were warranted. No arrest had been announced as of the latest reports.
The investigation remained active Saturday as authorities continued reviewing the evidence. Officials had not announced any new findings or charges in connection with the child’s death.
Author note: Last updated October 24, 2026.