‘TRAGEDY ON SO MANY LEVELS’

Virginia Father Fatally Shoots Himself After Finding Toddler Dead in Hot Car

The unnamed man appeared to have shot himself moments after discovering his 18-month-old boy dead.

A man in Chesterfield, Virginia, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly after discovering the lifeless body of his 18-month-old son in an overheated car on Tuesday, local authorities said. The unnamed father may have left the child unattended in the hot car for up to three hours while he was at work before realizing what was apparently his horrific mistake. Upon finding the toddler dead inside his car, police said, he returned home, took the child inside, walked out the back door alone, and shot himself in a nearby wooded area. Investigators were alerted to the situation after receiving a tip of a child being left in a vehicle, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Another family member, claiming to have spoken to the father prior to his death, provided a further tip that the man was making suicidal statements. “It’s just a tragedy on so many levels,” a police spokesperson said. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends that are going to deal with this.”