Man Cleaning His Gun Allegedly Shoots, Kills Girlfriend's Baby: Police

Henry Bartle, 18, is charged with criminally negligent homicide

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Police in upstate New York have charged an 18-year-old man with criminally negligent homicide for his alleged role in the shooting death of a 7-month-old boy.

Henry Bartle was arrested Sunday by officers from the Rome, New York, police department, a statement obtained by PEOPLE reads.

According to the statement, Bartle was cleaning his 12-gauge shotgun in his apartment with his girlfriend – the 7-month-old’s mother – and another man.

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The child, Nathaniel Hitt, was also in the apartment as Bartle cleaned the gun in his living room, the statement reads. Police say that Bartle had the loaded weapon in his lap and that the barrel was aimed at the child.

The statement says he went to stand, and the gun went off, striking the child in “the upper body area.”

The boy was dead by the time police officers arrived at the scene.

It was unclear Monday if Bartle had an attorney. He is being held at the Oneida County Correctional Facility on an unspecified amount of bail and has not yet entered a plea to the charge against him.

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