A Lonoke County man has been charged with endangering a minor in the accidental shooting death of a three-year-old boy at his home on Kerr Station Road last July.

At the time, Lonoke sheriff’s deputies said Noah Chambers, 3, was fatally shot when he picked up a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol at Galing’s home and it fired.

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Vince Gatlin, 30, was also charged with theft by receiving. The gun used to shoot the boy was determined to have been stolen from North Little Rock in 2009. A spokesman said Gatlin claimed to have purchased the weapon from a co-worker at a place no longer in business. Charging options were limited in the event. Lt. Jim Kulesa said Gatlin was charged for his actions, or lack of them, leading up to the death. He left a loaded gun on a nightstand with a child in the house. The child lived next door and visited frequently, Kulesa said.

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