Rookie cop killed by 3-year-old son who picked up his gun

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A rookie Nashville police officer died Friday after he was shot by his 3-year-old son, who had picked up his father's service gun from a kitchen table in their home.

Joshua Haffner, 22, was pronounced dead Friday morning after several hours of surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He had been flown by helicopter from an airport near his home in Smyrna, about 20 miles to the southeast.

The shooting occurred about 11 p.m. Thursday, shortly after Haffner had gotten home from his shift at Nashville's South Sector Precinct, said Sgt. Ken Hampton of the Smyrna Police Department.

"He was taking off his duty equipment and laid his gun on the kitchen table. Apparently while he had his back turned and was talking to his wife, their 3-year-old picked the gun up and shot him," Hampton said.

He was shot once in the upper back with the Glock .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, Hampton said.

Haffner graduated from Nashville's police academy Nov. 1 and was completing his field training.

"This is something he always talked about, being a police officer," Hampton said of Haffner, who went to high school in Smyrna.