By Tribune-Review

Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 4:30 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Mercer County man who accidentally shot and killed his 7-year-old son when a handgun discharged as he was climbing into his pickup truck will not face criminal charges, the district attorney announced on Wednesday.

Mercer County District Attorney Robert G. Kochems called the death of Craig Allan Loughrey “a tragic accident” because his father, Joseph V. Loughrey, 44, of Sharpsville, “believed he had unloaded the firearm at home before taking it to the dealer in an attempt to sell it and another weapon.” The shooting occurred on Dec. 8 outside Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock.

Kochems said Loughrey had stored the handgun in a locked location at his home without the magazine in the pistol. However, Kochems said state police determined that he had failed to clear the chamber of the cartridge when he last used the weapon in the summer.

“Mr. Loughrey had a mistaken but good faith belief that he had properly secured and stored the firearm unloaded in his home,” Kochems said.

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