Teen Under Arrest After His 2-Year-Old Brother Shoots Himself At Costco With Stolen Gun, Police Say

An teenager in Louisiana was behind bars after his 2-year-old brother got ahold of a stolen gun and shot himself in the leg, authorities said.

New Orleans police charged Zyaire Cornelius, 18, with second-degree cruelty to juveniles and with illegally possessing a stolen firearm in connection to the July 12 incident.

According to court documents, Cornelius’ young sibling suffered “a large amount of blood loss” after the toddler shot himself with a Glock 19 in a car at a Costco gas station in New Orleans around 3:50 p.m., WVUE reported.

Investigator Jesse Roger wrote in an affidavit that Cornelius showed “gross negligence” when he allegedly left “the firearm in the rear seat” with the young victim.

Detectives recovered the Glock 19, which had an extended magazine, from the floor of the suspect’s Dodge Challenger as well as “an AR-15 pistol wedged in between the driver seat and the center console,” police said.

The Glock was reported stolen in St. Tammany Parish in 2020, police said.

Cornelius was being held at the Orleans Justice Center jail on $70,000 bond.

If convicted of the charges against him, he faces up to 40 years behind bars, according to WAFB.