BATON ROUGE - A father is being charged with negligent homicide after his four-year-old son shot and killed himself while unattended Friday afternoon.

According to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, 34-year-old Lynzell Anderson's son was sitting his car, unsupervised, in the driveway of their Prescott Road home Friday afternoon. 

Anderson told deputies he left the car's passenger door open and went inside to grab his keys before a trip to the store with his son and fiancee. Anderson said when he was inside he heard a gun go off.

Deputies said the child got hold of a gun and shot himself in the face. He died at the scene.

Anderson told deputies he keeps a gun under the passenger seat, without a lock or a safety device. Detectives later found the firearm placed in tall grass in the backyard of the home.

Anderson was booked for negligent homicide. 

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome released the following statement about the shooting Saturday:

"The tragic incident of a four-year-old finding a gun and shooting himself is equally sad and frustrating. Children should never have access to a gun and that’s why it is imperative to secure your firearm in your home with a gunlock or inside a gun safe. My office provides free gunlocks at City Hall. I extend my deepest condolences to the child’s family and loved ones, please keep them in our prayers. This case is being investigated by our East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office."