A 7-year-old boy has been charged with a felony after shooting his father, the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The boy was charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, which is a felony. He told police he was upset about having to stay at his father’s home for the weekend, according to court documents.
His father and stepmother, both of Greenwood, face charges of neglect of a dependent due to what police described as deplorable conditions in the home and open access to a handgun and ammunition.
Charles Yancey III, 37, and Ruby Yancey, 34, were both charged with neglect of a dependent, according to a news release from the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The charges stem from an incident at the family’s Greenwood home on Sunday.
The 7-year-old and his father got into an argument, and the boy got a gun, loaded it and shot at his father, hitting him the in the wrist, the news release said.
Two days earlier, police had been called because the boy had taken a Taser from his stepmother’s dresses, but threw it away because it didn’t work, the court documents said. The stepmother told police on Nov. 11 that the boy had made comments to her about wanting to and dreaming of killing other members of the family, the documents said. Police had told her at that time that the weapons should be locked up for the safety of the children.
When police entered the home to investigate the shooting, officers found found trash and clothes all over a bedroom where children slept, according to police reports. Police couldn’t see the floor in that room.
Charles and Rubey Yancey were both arrested and taken to the Johnson County jail.
The boy was taken to Community Hospital North after a psychological evaluation, the police report said.
