27-year-old Johnson County man charged after child finds gun, shoots sister in home

A 27-year-old Johnson County man is accused of endangering a child’s life after a 9-year-old boy found a gun in the man’s home and shot his older sister.

Raul J. Avalos Jr. was charged Tuesday in Johnson County District Court with two counts of aggravated endangerment of a child, criminal use of weapons, two counts of drug possession, including cocaine and marijuana, and a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge.

The children were at Avalos’ home when the shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. Sunday in the 5200 block of Farley Court, Merriam police said. Police said they think Avalos may be a relative of the children.

Police said a 9-year-boy found a gun. At least one shot was fired, striking the boy’s 10-year-old sister in the leg.

The girl was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.

Avalos was arrested Monday. He remained in the Johnson County jail Tuesday with bond set at $50,000.

This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 4:38 PM.