When he reached to calm his crying son, his gun fell — and fired a deadly shot, police say

His son was crying in the back seat of the car. But when Kenneth Morris, 28, tried to reach into the vehicle’s rear driver’s side door to calm the 1-year-old, his .357-caliber magnum revolver got loose from his shoulder holster.

He grasped for the firearm as it fell, but in doing so accidentally pulled the trigger, firing a deadly shot into his own stomach, according to the Associated Press.

The incident happened Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. in the driveway of a home in eastern Pennsylvania — and it was all caught on surveillance video nearby, Berwick, Pa. police told AP.

Morris was rushed to the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. shortly after he was shot. He underwent surgery at the hospital, but died from his wounds three hours later, according to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.

Morris served as second assistant chief at the Nescopeck Township Fire Company - Station 161, according to the fire company’s Facebook page.

“He was a great guy and a good friend to us all,” his volunteer fire company wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday after his death. “He will be forever remembered in the firefighter family here.”

Morris was from Virginia, according to a Facebook page that appears to be associated with him, and was engaged to be married in Pennsylvania.

He was born in Granville County, N.C., according to an obituary, and is survived by several children and his fiancee, Cassandra Maree.

A gofundme site has been set up in hopes of raising $7,000 for his sister and father, who are planning to transport his body home for a funeral, according to the page.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 4:55 PM with the headline "When he reached to calm his crying son, his gun fell — and fired a deadly shot, police say."