Philly man arrested after a 2-year-old shot himself with a gun left unattended in his home

A Philadelphia man was arrested Tuesday after police say he left a gun unattended in his West Philadelphia home and a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot himself with it.

Rahmir Ponzo, 20, of the 5200 block of Delancey Street, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person for leaving the weapon in a bedroom, where the boy found it, said Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.

Just before 1:45 p.m. Monday, police responded to a shooting at the home and found the child with a gunshot wound in his abdomen, police said.

He was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he underwent surgery and was in critical condition, he said.

Police said the boy lived in the home and was related to Ponzo, but they did not say how.

Later Monday afternoon, police said, another child was injured in a shooting mere blocks away.

Around 4:20 p.m., a 5- or 6-year-old girl was on the front porch of a home on the 5900 block of Pine Street with her family when she was struck in the leg by gunfire, police said.

The girl was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was in stable condition Tuesday.

Police said the shooting was sparked by an argument earlier in the day in which someone had threatened others in the house and left. A group of four men later came to the house, Vanore said, and one of them started shooting, striking the girl.

Police continue to investigate and have made no arrests.