--- description: His mother's boyfriend has been charged with criminally negligent homicide title: Baby Dies After Shotgun Goes Off in Rome, New York image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1282c6552a9e6249/6988732f0b72e3454a6e709f/baby-fatally-shot-rome-new-york.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Baby Dies After Shotgun Goes Off in Upstate New York by [Shamar Walters / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Shamar Walters / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2015 1:00 PM CUT  This booking photo released by the Rome, N.Y. Police Department on Nov. 29, 2015, shows Henry W. Bartle, who was arrested in connection with the death of a baby who died of a gunshot wound. This booking photo released by the Rome, N.Y. Police Department on Nov. 29, 2015, shows Henry W. Bartle, who was arrested in connection with the death of a baby who died of a gunshot wound.Rome Police via EPA by [Shamar Walters / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Shamar Walters / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2015 1:00 PM CUT A baby was fatally shot when a shotgun belonging to his mother’s boyfriend went off in their living room, police said. Authorities found seven-month-old Nathaniel W. Hitt dead while responding to a report of an injured child at an apartment in Rome, New York, at around 4 p.m. on Saturday. Police said Henry W. Bartle, 18, had left the “shotgun laying on his lap with the muzzle pointed in the direction of the child” when he attempted to get up. The 12-gauge weapon fired as Bartle stood and the baby was struck in his upper body, [according to Rome police](http://www.romepd.com/news%5Fart.asp?id=702 "undefined"). [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/baby-dies-after-shotgun-goes-rome-new-york-n471861?cid=par-time%5F20151201 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4130546/baby-dies-shotgun/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4130546/baby-dies-shotgun/"},"headline":"Baby Dies After Shotgun Goes Off in Upstate New York","datePublished":"2015-12-01T13:00:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:59:13.473Z","description":"His mother's boyfriend has been charged with criminally negligent homicide","url":"https://time.com/4130546/baby-dies-shotgun/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1282c6552a9e6249/6988732f0b72e3454a6e709f/baby-fatally-shot-rome-new-york.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shamar Walters / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1282c6552a9e6249/6988732f0b72e3454a6e709f/baby-fatally-shot-rome-new-york.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rome Police arrest man over infant death","caption":"This booking photo released by the Rome, N.Y. Police Department on Nov. 29, 2015, shows Henry W. Bartle, who was arrested in connection with the death of a baby who died of a gunshot wound.","creditText":"Rome Police via EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4130546/baby-dies-shotgun/","name":"Baby Dies After Shotgun Goes Off in Upstate New York"}}]}] ```