TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man is accused of leaving a loaded gun on his bed, where his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son accidentally discharged the weapon and was wounded, authorities said.
According to a news release from the Tampa Police Department and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Steve Jaleel Cleion Johnson, 30, of Tampa, was arrested on Tuesday. He faces charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, child neglect with great bodily harm, safe storage of firearms and possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis.
Police said that at about 7:14 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the boy had been in bed with his mother and Johnson. When Johnson went to the bathroom, he allegedly left a gun unsecured where the boy could reach it.
After taking the gun off the bed, the boy was wounded in the forearm when the weapon discharged.
The boy gained access to the firearm, which discharged, striking the child in the forearm.
The boy’s mother called 911, and the child was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening, WTVT reported.
Investigators at the scene learned that Johnson was a convicted felon who was in possession of a gun illegally, the news release stated. He was arrested and booked into jail, where he remains as of Thursday.
“It is incredibly fortunate that this was not a fatal tragedy,” Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. “This incident highlights the double danger of a convicted felon unlawfully possessing a firearm and then failing to secure it. A gun should never be within reach of a child.
“There is no excuse for such negligence when the cost could easily have been a young life.”
© 2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
