San Antonio police detectives are now discounting a man's claim that a four year old girl was shot and wounded early today in a drive-by shooting on the city's west side, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The man had told police he and the little girl were walking near their home in the 500 block of Park Grove, which is near Loop 410 and Highway 151, when a car came by and somebody inside fired several shots.
He said the little girl was shot in the chest. She is in the hospital in critical condition.
But detectives now say that story didn't hold up under questioning. Police wanted to know why the little girl was out at 1AM, and were also curious why the man was not hit, and why no shell casings were found at the scene.
Police say the man, 24 year old Lazurus Gutierrez, admitted that he stashed a gun under the cushions of his sofa, and the little girl found the gun and accidentally shot herself. Gutierrez said he made up the story because he didn't want to get into trouble.
She is in critical condition with a bullet wound to the chest.
Gutierrez is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and with tampering with evidence. Bond is set at $20,000.