3-year-old shoots two people in Indiana, leading to arrest of man wanted for murder

(LAFAYETTE, Ind.) — A shooting in Indiana that injured two people after a three-year-old accessed a gun led to the arrest of a man wanted for murder in Illinois, authorities said.

Trayshaun Smith, 23, was arrested on Thursday after he visited a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, according to Lt. Justin Hartman of the Lafayette Police Department.

Investigators eventually determined that the shooting that sent Smith and another victim to the hospital occurred when a three-year-old was able to access a gun and fire a single round.

“It was determined that a three year old child at that location accessed a gun and fired one round striking two people,” according to Hartman.

The police department said officers initially found both shooting victims at the Franciscan Health Lafayette East Hospital, where they were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. They later determined that the shooting occurred at an apartment complex in Lafayette, Indiana.

Smith was arrested on an active murder warrant from neighboring Cook County, Illinois. The Lafayette Police Department said it is coordinating with police in Markham, Illinois, regarding the arrest.

Smith resides in Lafayette, according to authorities.

A representative for the Markham Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.

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