WINONA, Minn. – Police have questions about how a 3-year-old could have reached on top of a refrigerator to get the gun and then shoot himself. The child lost fingers but survived. Tipped by the hospital, police went to the house of the child’s father, Anthony James Crowson, 33, who said he had taken a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm semiautomatic pistol from his safe after hearing suspicious noises during the night, then left the gun atop the refrigerator. A spent shell casing was not ejected from the pistol, pointing to the weapon’s slide having been stopped from cycling. The officer also questioned whether a 3-year old could grab a gun from the top of the fridge or have the strength or long enough fingers to pull a trigger and hold a slide to stop it from functioning. There was also a pellet gun on top of a microwave, police noted. In the house, in the 300 block of Mankato Avenue, police reported finding marijuana, several boxes of ammunition, and gun magazines. Police said that Crowson was upset and shaken. Blood was spattered throughout.
Earlier Toddler finds gun, shoots self