Man Arrested After Oakland Boy Shot In Head Faces Multiple Felony Charges

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OAKLAND (CBS SF) - A man arrested Wednesday after a 4-year-old boy was shot in the head in East Oakland was charged Friday with child abuse, having a firearm as a felon, and criminal storage of a firearm, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

The shooting was reported at about 2 p.m. in the 2400 block of Ritchie Street. The boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and police detained the boy's mother and 37-year-old Terrence Wilson for questioning.

Wilson and the boy's mother said he had been watching TV alone in the bedroom when the gun was fired, according to court documents. Police located the gun on the bedpost when they arrived, and have not confirmed whether the child shot himself.

Wilson said he had slept with the gun under the pillow the previous night, and forgotten to remove it when he woke up late to take his children to school, according to a probable cause statement. The boy's mother said she knew there was a gun in the house, but did not know where it was kept.

According to the probable cause statement, Wilson told police he purchased the gun on the street in San Francisco two weeks before and was aware he was not allowed to have a firearm.

The statement also says Wilson has prior convictions for second-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime in Stanislaus County in 2003, and three felony convictions for insurance fraud and grand theft in Stockton the same year. The convictions make him ineligible for probation under the state's "three-strikes" law.

The probable cause statement says Wilson also told police he was familiar with the gun's safety mechanisms, but had left the trigger unlocked after losing its keys. Police later determined the gun had been reported stolen.

Police released the boy's mother after interviewing her. Police said Friday evening that the boy is in critical but stable condition.

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Crime