Man in custody after girl shot in legs on the South Side

YOUNGSTOWN — A man is in custody after a 3-year-old girl was shot in the legs Saturday evening.

Dionte Robinson, 24, no address available, is the Mahoning County jail on a charge of felony child endangering and is expected to be arraigned in municipal court Monday.

Robinson was arrested after the girl was shot at about 8:30 p.m. inside her home in the 300 block of East Boston Avenue.

Lt. Doug Bobovnyik of the Detective Bureau said the girl was shot once but the bullet went through both legs. She is being treated at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

Bobovnyik said Robinson was visiting the girl's mother in her home and was carrying a semiautomatic handgun with him. Robinson claimed that he had a concealed carry permit to carry a firearm from the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office.

Robinson told police the gun was in his waistband but it was making him uncomfortable, Bobovnyik said. Bobovnyik said the girl was on Robinson's lap when he took the gun out of his waistband.

The gun then fired, striking the girl.

Robinson was cooperative with police and he did give a statement to detectives, Bobovnyik said.

Bobovnyik said it appears that Robinson is not familiar with how semiautomatic weapons operate, which may be why the gun went off when he took it out of his waistband.