A 22-year-old Ohio father was arrested for posting a photo on Facebook of himself holding his baby daughter and a BB gun.
Dominic Gaines was charged with child endangerment for posing in a photo with his 1-year-old daughter, Paradise Gaines, while also holding what was mistaken for a deadly weapon. Police say the gun was positioned too close to the baby girl to be considered safe. The child’s mother discovered the picture and the maternal grandmother called the police.
Authorities in Colerain Township, Ohio, initially believed that Gaines was holding a handgun .
“It’s really been blown out of proportion,” the young man’s father, Wilson Dykes, told Fox 19, further explaining that the BB gun was pointed toward the ground.
While in court on Monday, Gaines referred to the incident as a misunderstanding and explained that he was playing with the gun while visiting relatives, WLWT reported.
“What had happened was he had his nephews over, as well as his daughter, they were all playing. He was playing with a BB gun with his nephews. His brother walked in and wanted to take a picture of him with his daughter, he incidentally happened to be holding the BB gun in the picture,” said attorney Andy Schoenling.
The air guns shoot plastic projectiles called “BBs”. Although being hit by a “BB” can hurt, the guns do not have the capability to kill anyone and are frequently given to children to use as toys. Certain models closely resemble a handgun in appearance, causing them to be easily mistaken for a deadly weapon.
Gaines is currently being held on $2,000 bond in the Hamilton County Jail.
