Gary man charged after accidentally shooting his father

A man was charged Friday with unlawful possession of a firearm after he accidentally shot his father in his parents’ home.

Donnell Currin Jr., 48, was charged with one count of felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, according to a statement from Gary police.

Around 3:30 a.m., his mother noticed the rear porch light and doorbell go off of their home in the 4100 block of West 22nd Place in Gary. She called out for her husband, 80-year-old Donnell Currin Sr., who did not answer, so she called out to her son, who woke up and grabbed a handgun from his mother’s room and went to investigate, police said.

Seeing a shadowy figure at the door whom he thought was an intruder, he fired one shot, hitting his father in the arm. The bullet traveled into his father’s chest and lodged in his back, police said.

Currin Jr. did not know it was his father until Currin Sr. called out to him after the shooting, police said. Currin Sr. was taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus in Gary for treatment.

An investigation revealed that Currin Jr. was convicted of felony criminal confinement in 2002, police said. He was then charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.