Man arrested, charged after 4-year-old boy accidentally shoots himself in head in SE Houston apartment

A man has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies connected to the accidental self-shooting of a child in an apartment complex in southeast Houston.

OUR FIRST REPORT: 4-year-old boy in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself in head in SE Houston

Nicholas Zepeda-Quintanilla, 27, has been charged with felony counts of injury to a child and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The incident happened shortly before 1 p.m. Monday at the SageHollow Apartments in the 10700 block of Fuqua Street.

The four-year-old boy got hold of the firearm and accidentally shot himself in the head.

According to court records, the firearm was placed on a shelf where the child could reach it. The gun was loaded and not secured by a trigger lock.

Court records also revealed that Zepeda-Quintanilla had a previous felony conviction of assault on a security officer from 2021, a conviction that prevented him from legally owning a firearm for five years after his release from parole supervision in Nov. 2022.

The boy’s mother and her boyfriend were detained after the incident.

Authorities confirmed with KPRC 2 that Zepeda-Quintanilla was the mother’s boyfriend.