UPDATE:

Port St. Lucie police report that they have recovered the gun a toddler allegedly used to shoot himself in the head.

Police allege that the suspect gave the gun to a friend and asked him to hold onto it. Police say the gun owner, 21-year-old Mohamed Faiyaz, didn’t explain why, he just asked the friend to keep the gun, a Glock 43 9mm pistol, for an undetermined amount of time.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Port St. Lucie police and the U.S. Marshals Task Force have arrested a suspect in connection with the shooting of a toddler.

The two-year-old reportedly shot himself in the head after gaining access to a gun around 11 p.m. on June 11th at a condominium in the 1600 block of Southeast Green Acres Circle.

The child was then taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

On Monday, authorities announced they have arrested 21-year-old Mohamed Faiyaz.

Officials say Faiyaz met the child’s mother on a dating app a week prior to the incident and eventually went over to meet her.

Faiyaz was said to have brought the gun into the home and left the gun on a table. The child’s mother told police that she told Faiyaz to remove the gun from the home, however, Faiyaz did not do so.

The mother says at some point she left the room and that’s when she heard a gunshot and found the child had been shot.

During a press conference, authorities reported that they believe the vehicle the child was transported to the hospital in was that of the suspects vehicle.

The suspect then spent over a week avoiding police.