Charles and Tricia Noel remain in the Miami County Jail tonight on cash-only bonds of $60,000 and $50,000 respectively. Their bonds arise from the criminal charges filed against them in the Monday afternoon incident that occurred in the 10,000 block of North County Road 25-A near Piqua.
Next for Mom and Dad, 26 and 25, is a pretrial hearing that has not yet been scheduled, according to the jail's online record.
According to sheriff's deputies, the Noel boy discharged a 20-gauge shotgun twice, sending buckshot through his bedroom wall. The pellets hit a neighbor's mobile home and the neighbor’s pickup truck.
One of the residents, Kevin Darnell, was not at home. But his mother was in the residence they share at the Paris Park Mobile Home Park -- and he's upset about what happened.
"Once I seen the house, I was like, 'Oh my God.' I just couldn't believe that," he said.
"It just had me horrified," he said at the thought that his mother was inside when the buckshot hit it. "I was worried to death for my mother."
Darnell said, "I found it so, so amazing that they had a loaded firearm in their home and just kept it, apparently, free range for the kids to touch and play with."
EXPERT: TEACH CHILDREN EARLY
Cronin teaches students who attend his carry-concealed-weapon class that every gun should be treated as though it is loaded -- all the time. He said he teaches his children the same lesson.
"There are millions and millions of households across the country that have firearms in them so the odds that, someday, your child will be in a residence that has a firearm in it... whether they know it or not... are pretty good," Cronin said.
"I think it's very important that everyone understand just how to handle firearms responsibly, safely... so that you are able to be safe when you come across it."
The 4-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister are in the temporary custody of their grandparents, according to officials.
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