4-year-old shot in ‘unfit’ home leads police to reptiles, Alabama cops say
A 4-year-old boy who was taken to the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the arm led to the discovery of unsafe living conditions in his home, including a possible crocodile or alligator, snakes and rats, an Alabama sheriff said.
“Really the best word I can use is nasty,” Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon said when describing the environment the boy was living in during an April 8 news conference.
They boy’s parents — whom McClatchy News is not naming to protect his identity — were arrested April 7 and face at least 20 charges each, including assault, chemical endangerment of a child and cruelty to animals, according to arrest records.
Moon said deputies responded to a report of a child with a gunshot wound at about 7:30 a.m. Friday, April 4 at a hospital in Oneonta, about a 40-mile drive northeast from Birmingham.
“When I got the call from my chief deputy that morning telling me that we have a 4-year-old child in the hospital with a gunshot wound, I literally almost threw up,” Moon said. “Even without knowing the details of the case, I began to think: who would cause this pain to a child?”
A nurse told deputies the child’s mother had been making statements to him like “this is what happens when you play with guns,” Moon said, adding that the boy was brought to the hospital by his parents with a belt wrapped around his arm as a tourniquet.
The boy was airlifted to a children’s hospital where he had surgery for his injuries and is expected to make a full recovery, Moon said.
’Unfit’ living environment
While conducting a search of the boy’s home, deputies found guns, drug paraphernalia and several animals, including some that were dead, according to Moon.
Moon said several “unknown” snake species believed to be in the constrictor family were discovered in containers throughout the residence; however, some of the snakes were dead and had maggots covering them.
Boxes of mice and rats which investigators believe to be food for the snakes were also found in the residence.
What was described by deputies as a “crocodile or a caiman or an alligator” was also seen living inside a large aquarium in a bathroom, Moon said, adding that that is illegal in Alabama.
Moon said the Alabama Department of Conservation and the Wildlife Freshwater Fisheries Division are investigating some of the more exotic animals found in the household, while animal control will take care of the rest of the animals.
“To have the opportunity to be able to go in and pull these children out of this extremely unsafe, unfit environment and prayerfully and hopefully have them placed in a home that will love them…that means the world,” Moon said.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 6:42 PM with the headline "4-year-old shot in ‘unfit’ home leads police to reptiles, Alabama cops say."
