Child shot in Cranston, father arrested

A Cranston man has been arrested and charged following the “accidental” shooting of his four-year-old son, according to Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist.

The child was shot at their residence in Cranston on Oct. 31. At 10:12 a.m. the Cranston Fire Department received 911 calls that a four-year-old boy had been shot at 25 Queen St., according to police.

“The caller indicated the father was responsible for the shooting,” Winquist said in a press release. “Patrol Officers arrived to find Michael A. Jones, age 33, holding his son with an apparent gunshot wound to his head.”

The boy was transported by rescue to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where he remains in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery, police said.

Jones was taken into custody and transported to Cranston Police Headquarters.

“An investigation conducted by members of the Cranston Police Special Victims Unit revealed that Jones was inside a second-floor bedroom of his apartment handling a loaded firearm described as a 9-millimeter handgun,” police said. “According to Jones, he accidentally discharged the gun, causing a single round to travel through the wall and strike his son in the head in an adjacent room.”

The child’s grandfather, who resides on the first floor, called 911 for medical help.

Police executed a court-authorized search warrant at the home and report finding “a loaded 9-millimeter believed to have been used in the shooting.”

Jones had been previously convicted of a felony assault was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and probation on June 1, 2022. The sentence prohibited Jones from possessing a firearm, according to police.

“How Jones acquired the gun remains under investigation,” Winquist said in the press release.

He was to be arraigned at Cranston Police Headquarters on the following charges: Felony Assault, Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person (Convicted of a Crime of Violence), and Firing in a Compact Area.  A prosecutor from the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office will argue Jones violated his suspended sentence, according to police.

“This case is particularly difficult for all involved given the age of the victim and highlights the need to keep firearms out of the hands of prohibited individuals,” Winquist said. “A tragedy like this hits home with our first responders, many of whom have children of their own. Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family as he fights for survival.”