Parents of Pittsburgh teen who accidentally shot and killed 5-year-old brother charged as well

© Marc A. Hermann

A Pittsburgh couple left their semi-automatic handgun out and their 13-year-old son accidentally shot his 5-year-old brother in the face, killing him. Now, the parents will face charges too.

Thomas Wolfe, 35, and Sara Gerwig, 37, were charged Monday with endangering the welfare of children for leaving the gun out, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Both Wolfe and Gerwig were home watching TV and cooking dinner on the night of Nov. 22, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the Daily News. But neither noticed when the teenager, Keegan, picked up Wolfe’s semi-automatic 9mm handgun and shot his brother, Connor.

Connor was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Video: Neighbors asking for change after teens' deaths at Bay to Bay Blvd. (WTSP-TV Tampa-St. Petersburg)

Neighbors asking for change after teens' deaths at Bay to Bay Blvd.

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Keegan, who has been charged with first-degree homicide, told police that the gun was in a plastic holster, sitting on top of a gun safe at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom where his dad always kept it, according to the criminal complaint.

Both Wolfe and Gerwig told police that’s where he always left the gun, which he described as his “everyday carry gun” for leaving the house. The gun was kept loaded with a live round in the chamber.

Detectives found multiple gun safes in the house and several trigger locks that were unused.

All four children, including a 6-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, had been sleeping in the first-floor master bedroom after the electricity went out on the second floor.