Justin Stanfield Thomas and his son were visiting a friend when the accident happened.
Just a few minutes into the visit the little boy found a gun lying out. Jeremy Hartt is a neighbor, he described what happened.
“Apparently when Justin and his little boy showed up, within minutes, the little boy found the gun and said, ‘Hey, daddy, what’s this?’ and it went off.”
Thomas was taken to a hospital in Prescott, Arizona but could not be revived.
Hartt added “he didn’t know what was going on, he was just a happy little boy.”
Thomas was an Army Special Forces veteran who served in the Iraq War.
Police told KSAZ-TV they believe the gun may have been left in the open because Thomas dropped in on his friend unannounced
The little boy was questioned but police say he didn’t understand what had happened and he was released to his mother.