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Child Endangerment Charges For Father Of 4-Yr-Old Who Fatally Shot 6-Yr-Old
By
Jen Chung
Published May 14, 2013
Modified May 14, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 14, 2013
Modified May 14, 2013
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A month after a six-year-old boy was killed by his four-year-old neighbor, an arrest has been made. The four-year-old's father, Anthony Senatore, was charged last night with numerous counts of child endangerment—his son had taken his loaded .22-caliber rifle and was "pretend shooting" at Brandon Holt, who died from being shot in the head.
According to the Star-Ledger, "Senatore was charged with five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of children and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He was also charged with a disorderly persons offense for enabling access by minors to a loaded firearm." There were a total of five unsecured weapons that Senatore's children, including an eight-year-old and 12-year-old, could access; the one used in the killing had been taken from the parents' bedroom.
Senatore made $100,000 bail. The shocking violence occurred in Toms River, NJ, which is in Ocean County, but the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office is handling the case because Senatore's mother retired as a lieutenant in the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Neighbors have been livid about the tragedy—one told NBC New York, "I think it's a tragedy that could have been prevented. I feel the parents need to be accountable, totally need to be accountable," while another fumed, "My dad was a hunter. We had guns. Those guns were locked away. We didn’t know where to find them."
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anthony senatore
brandon holt
child endangerment
gun violence
nj
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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