Father charged with accidentally shooting his 5-year-old son, prosecutors say

A Philadelphia man has been charged with shooting his 5-year-old son, the District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday, after police say the gun he was handling accidentally fired and struck the boy in the pelvis Monday morning.

Prosecutors say Nicholas Pagan, 29, was handling a firearm — which he is prohibited from legally possessing because of previous convictions — in the living room of his Olney home Monday morning when the weapon fired and struck his 5-year-old son. Police rushed the boy to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where he was in stable condition.

Pagan, who was on probation for a gun conviction, was charged Tuesday morning with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, illegal gun possession, and related crimes. According to the District Attorney’s Office, Pagan’s 9-year-old son was also present during the shooting, as were several of Pagan’s friends.

When police responded to the home, on the 200 block of West Fisher Avenue, the gun used in the shooting was missing, potentially taken by Pagan’s friends who left before police arrived, prosecutors said.

Police also found a shotgun on the second floor, a violation of Pagan’s probation and house arrest, which stems from a March conviction for illegal gun possession.

Pagan is being held on $2 million bail, and a judge issued a stay-away order to keep him from interacting with his sons.

In 2016, Pagan was convicted of manufacturing drugs with intent to deliver, conspiracy, and child endangerment, court records show. He was sentenced to four years’ probation. Pagan was arrested again in 2017 on robbery charges, though records do not show the case’s conclusion.

His most recent arrest was in October for illegal gun possession, and he pleaded guilty in March, records show. A judge sentenced him to 11 ½ to 23 months, but allowed him to serve the remainder of his time on house arrest.