BENNINGTON, N.Y. — A father is arrested after a 3-year-old boy shot himself at the family's Wyoming County home last week.

Officials from the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office arrested 42-year-old Bennington resident Matthew Howell and charged him with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

Police say they responded on December 30 to a call where a 3-year-old boy had been shot through the chest and shoulder area with a .45 caliber handgun at the family's home on Tooley Road. Police say the boy's mother called 911 and followed the dispatcher's instructions to treat the boy until EMS arrived on scene. The child was then transported to Children's Hospital in Buffalo and, according to police, made it through surgery.

Police say the incident was accidental, but the gun was registered to the father.

"Although this was a terrible accident, it was completely preventable," said Wyoming County Sheriff Gregory Rudolph in a press release. "The loaded handgun was left unattended for minutes in the living room, but it was readily accessible to the child which was the most significant factor in determining the charge.  No one wins in a case like this; it is heart wrenching to everyone involved."

Police say the child is still hospitalized, but is doing well.

Howell is scheduled to appear in court on January 29 at 6 p.m.