A 19-year-old Indiana man is facing several charges after his 1-year-old nephew was shot and killed inside a South Bend home on Tuesday afternoon, according to reports.
Joseph Troupe is charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, reckless homicide, and two counts of neglect of a dependent.
On a reported shooting, officers were called around 12:40 p.m. Tuesday to the 800 block of Amhurst Avenue. When they arrived, they found a 1-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound.
Police say the boy was rushed to the hospital, where he died Wednesday morning.
In an emotional press conference Wednesday afternoon, police said the evidence suggests the 1-year-old boy and his 2-year-old cousin were playing with Troupe’s gun when the 2-year-old pulled the trigger, resulting in his cousin’s death.
According to charging documents, Troupe had been staying at his sister’s home on Amhurst Avenue for the past several days to help with childcare duties. He had slept with his gun under his pillow the night before the shooting.
Troupe told police when he woke up, he forgot about the semiautomatic handgun under his pillow, which was loaded. He then told police that his 2-year-old son and his 1-year-old nephew went inside the bedroom after he had left it.
Troupe then told police he was in the living room with his sister and his 1-year-old daughter when they heard a gunshot.
“Both Mr. Troupe and our victim’s mother were in the living room, which is just off of that bedroom, and they heard a gunshot,” said St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter. “So, the evidence suggests that the 2-year-old playing with that gun pulled the trigger, resulting in his cousin’s death.”
Troupe then allegedly ran into the bedroom to find his son standing near the door and his nephew on the floor with a gunshot wound. He then told police he grabbed the gun and left the home in his sister’s vehicle before officers arrived.
Troupe was found shortly afterward at his home on Cushing Street and was detained. Police later found a 9mm handgun hidden inside a couch in the backyard of Troupe’s home.
Police say ballistics recovered from his sister’s home on Amhurst Ave. suggest it was the same gun used in the shooting. He admitted to police that he had hidden the weapon before being detained.
Troupe faces a minimum of 20 years or a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted on the Level 1 felony charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
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