4 year old Arizona boy accidentally shoots and kills father

A four year old boy, visiting a friend in Arizona with his father, found a loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed his father:

Prescott Valley Police say that an adult male was shot by his son Friday afternoon in an accidental shooting.

The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Justin Stanfield Thomas.

Officers responded to a Prescott Valley residence about 12:30 p.m. for a shots fired call. According to PVPD, Thomas' 4-year-old son accidentally shot him.

The boy somehow got ahold of a handgun in the living room and it discharged, hitting his father in the torso.

Thomas was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries where he was pronounced dead.

There was another adult male in the home at the time, but he was not involved in the shooting and has been cleared from suspicion. We've learned that man lived at the home and was a former roommate of Thomas. Thomas and his son were visiting after driving up from Phoenix.

We were told it was an unexpected visit, so that may be why a gun had been left out.

The child was taken to the police substation to undergo interviews. It didn't appear that he realized what he did.

"At this point there is no indication of any foul play," said Prescott Valley Police spokesperson Brandon Bonney. "But again once investigators go through the residence... and fully process it they'll look and see if there's any negligence involved... but it's something we won't know for some time now."

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.