A couple in Texas has been arrested after their nine-year-old boy allegedly shot his eight-year-old brother in the chest with his dad’s Glock handgun.

The boys’ mother Baronica Anne Chapa Mares and father Nathan Stephen Mares were arrested in the city of Wichita Falls, in the southern US state of Texas, on Tuesday, 25th October.

The mother allegedly told investigators that she had been at home with her three sons aged eight, nine and 12, as well as her five-year-old daughter.

The dad, Nathan Mares, was reportedly at his unnamed brother’s house.

Baronica Mares reportedly said that she had been cleaning the kitchen when she heard a loud “pop” come from her bedroom.

Her affidavit said: “Baronica told officers that she heard her kids screaming so she ran to her bedroom and saw the victim covered in blood from a chest wound.”

It also said: “Baronica stated she carried her son outside and yelled for help while one of her children called 911. The neighbor across the street heard the commotion and drove Baronica and her children to the hospital. Baronica stated at first she had thought that her son had shot himself in the chest, but she wasn’t sure.”

The eight-year-old child and his mother were taken to hospital by a neighbour before police arrived on the scene. They later questioned Baronica in the hospital.

The child, who has not been named, was airlifted to the Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth after Wichita Falls doctors determined that the bullet had narrowly missed his heart but had punctured his left lung, leaving him in a serious condition.

The doctors said that the bullet had gone straight through the boy’s chest and out the back of his right shoulder.

The affidavit stated: “Luckily, the victim survived and is expected to make a full recovery.”

After the dad, Nathan Mares, arrived at the hospital, he reportedly refused to talk with the police before having first discussed the matter with a lawyer, the authorities said.

He allegedly told investigators that he owned a Glock 42 .38 calibre handgun.

The police reportedly said that they overheard Nathan and Baronica telling their other children that they knew better than to be in their parents’ room without an adult.

The children were then interviewed by a specialist, trained to deal with children.

The affidavit said: “The 9-year-old son told the witness that he and the victim were playing in their parents’ room when they found a gun in a dresser. The 9-year-old said he and the victim were playing with the gun when he accidentally pulled the trigger and shot his brother.”

The police obtained a search warrant and found two rifles in the bedroom leaning against a wall as well as a chrome revolver on the nightstand dresser and two handguns, one of which was loaded and was believed to have been the weapon that injured the young boy.

Both parents were arrested and have each been charged with one count of making a firearm accessible to a child resulting in serious bodily injury, according to a Wichita County arrest warrant.

The mother was subsequently released and the father posted a USD 2,500 (GBP 2,164) bond.