Colorado-based Youtuber charged with child abuse after 7-year-old shot with unsecured gun
Johnathan Buckhouse runs a popular Youtube channel where he often posts videos of himself snowboarding or taking part in other action sports with his young son
Ryan Spencer/Summit Daily News
A Silverthorne man who describes himself as “a professional snowboard Vlogger” has been charged with child abuse after he left a gun within reach of children, resulting in a 7-year-old being shot, according to court documents.
Prosecutors have charged Johnathan Buckhouse, 32, with child abuse negligently causing serious bodily injury, a Class 4 felony, and failure to securely store a firearm, a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Buckhouse runs a Youtube channel with more than 175,000 followers, where he posts snowboarding, mountain biking and other action sports videos that he sometimes records with his son, who he described in a recent video as a “toddler.”
On Sept. 29, a Summit County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center for a report of a 7-year-old whose parents had brought him in for a gunshot wound to his hand, according to a warrantless arrest probable cause statement filed in court.
The parents told law enforcement that they and their two children had been visiting Buckhouse, a relative of theirs, for the weekend when around 7:15 p.m., the kids came running inside screaming about a bear near the property, the court documents state.
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Buckhouse then went to look for the bear and upon returning, Buckhouse told his relative that he was going to put his loaded handgun in the camper in case the bear came back, according to the court documents.
About an hour later, the relatives put the children to bed in the camper but soon heard screaming outside, and the children came running into the house, court documents state. One of the children had been shot in the hand, and his father wrapped a towel around the wound before rushing him to the hospital, according to court documents.
Upon arriving at Buckhouse’s residence, law enforcement officers located a Glock 40 with dried blood in and around the trigger and a bullet hole near the door of the trailer, court documents state. One of the children told a deputy that after going to bed he was curious and started searching the camper, possibly for snacks, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The child crawled up onto the counter and found the handgun in a cabinet cubby with no door, court documents state. The child believed the gun to be a BB gun and didn’t think it was real, but while he and his brother were holding it, it somehow went off and shot his brother in the hand, according to court documents.
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office arrested Buckhouse without incident. He posted a $7,500 bond Oct. 3 and is scheduled to appear in Summit County Court on Nov. 29 for an appearance on bond.
Buckhouse on Monday, Oct. 23, did not respond to messages sent to his social media accounts. His defense attorney also did not return a request for comment.
This story is from SummitDaily.com.
