A Utah police officer was shot at by a 4-year-old from the back seat of a car after he was allegedly told to do so by his father, authorities reported.
The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake reported the incident in a news release after police were called to a McDonald's where a man "brandished" a gun at drive-thru workers.
The man reportedly showed his weapon after he had received the wrong order. The workers then asked him to pull to the front of the restaurant and wait for the correct order before they called for help, the report said.
Police arrived shortly after, and after asking him to get out of his vehicle several times, he was forcibly removed, the release said.
The man was taken into custody, but while police were doing so, an officer saw a gun pointing out of the vehicle's back window, the release said. The cop told the others there was a gun, at which point he swiped it to the side, and a round was fired.
A UPD investigation revealed that the child's father had instructed the toddler to shoot at the officers but gave no details about the evidence proving the allegation.
In the back seat, the 4-year-old was accompanied by a 3-year-old sibling, according to the release. After the officer realized it was only a child, he yelled "kid" to notify the other police officers not to shoot.
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The release said that the office had sustained a minor injury to his arm but nothing further.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera shared in the release that this was a "sad day for law enforcement and our community."
"To have an adult think it is okay to encourage a four-year-old to pull a firearm and shoot at police illustrates how out of hand the campaign against police has gotten," Rivera said
The father is in custody and facing charges of felony child abuse and threatening with the use of a dangerous weapon, CNN reported. He has not yet been identified to the public.
"This needs to stop, and we need to come together as a community to find solutions to the challenges we face in our neighborhoods," Rivera said in her release.
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