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Virginia police are investigating an apparent suicide after the man’s child accidentally died in a car on Tuesday, according to authorities.
Chesterfield County police received a call around noon on Tuesday indicating that an 18-month-old boy had been left in an unattended vehicle for several hours and later received additional information that the child’s father was at his residence in Midlothian, Virginia, making suicidal statements. When police arrived at the home, they found the child’s body inside, with further investigation of the property revealing the father had killed himself with a firearm, Lt. Col. Chris Hensley with the Chesterfield Police Department said at a press conference.
“This is a horrible tragedy on so many levels, and our hearts go out to the family and friends that are going to deal with this,” Hensley said. “This happens almost every year, and all we can do is try and take a negative event like this and turn it into a positive so that people take that moment, learn, and pause.”
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The father realized while he was at work that he had left the toddler in the car for around three hours, police said. When the father found his son lifeless in his car, he drove him back to their home, according to police.
The weather in Midlothian was at a high of 81 degrees on Tuesday, according to Accuweather. It is unknown whether the child died of heat exhaustion.
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The father was the only person at home at the time, Hensley said, and police are currently considering the child’s death an accident.
