Boy, 3, dies in accidental shooting in Polk County

Breaking news. Let's start with heartbreaking breaking news tonight. A three-year-old boy has died just days away from their fourth birthday. Welcome in at 11. I'm Jack Royer. Good evening. I'm Marlisa Goldsmith. Deputies say that child accidentally shot themselves in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant in Polk County. Fox 35's Bailey Blockover is live in the Alert Center with the latest tonight. Bailey. Marlisa, Jack, this one is just absolutely tragic. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says a father and his family had just moved down here from Connecticut. They stopped to get dinner at a Burger King in Bartow, and while in line, the father was trying to figure out why his credit card wasn't working. The sheriff says the father had a gun tucked into his waistband, and when he bent over, it became uncomfortable. So investigators say he took that gun out of his waistband and set it down inside the car while trying to figure out how to pay for dinner. Well, moments later, there was a loud pop. We think dad took the gun out. He laid it down. He doesn't remember where he's still in a state of shock. And while he's trying to figure out how to pay for dinner on the credit card, the child obviously sees the gun, picks it up and is playing with it and shoots himself in the face. Bartow police officers rushed to help beginning life-saving measures before the child was taken into Lakeland Regional Health. He was pronounced dead around 7.30 this evening. Sheriff Grady Judd says investigators reviewed surveillance video from the restaurant. The father was described as extremely distraught. As for whether that father could face criminal charges, Florida law includes a culpable negligence statute that can make it a third-degree felony when a child gets a firearm and injures themselves. But before any charging decision is made, investigators must refer the case to the state attorney's office. Live in the Alert Center, Bailey Bachover, Fox 35 News.