Arrest in toddler's accidental shooting

PORT RICHEY - A 2-year-old Port Richey girl is in critical condition after accidentally shooting herself with a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun, and the boyfriend of her mother is under arrest, according to investigators.

McKenzie Smith was wounded about 10:30 Friday morning after finding a gun on the nightstand next to her mother's bed. Jessica Smith, 22, was home at the time. The owner of the weapon, 22-year old Ralph Ronzino, was at a nearby store.

Ronzino was arrested and charged with child neglect by culpable negligence. He is also charged with possession of marijuana. Both are 2nd degree felonies.

Pasco sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said Ronzino "left the handgun on the nightstand" after hearing a gun shot outside the house Thursday night.

"It looks like the bullet went in through the abdomen and came out, a clean-through shot, they call it," Doll said.

Deputies said they confiscated two other handguns and an AK-47 from the home, which they say were also "easily accessible" to the child.

It is not clear whether Ronzino lives at same address as the mother and daughter, but in January he reported a different hand gun was stolen from a car parked there.

Neighbors said they were shocked at the news.

"They're excellent parents. They were always with that baby. They take very good care of her," said Louise Sohl, who lives across the street.

Detectives kept the couple at the scene for two hours after the incident. The young mother was visibly upset and occasionally broke into tears. Sohl says right after the shooting "Oh my God, she was hysterical—she was just screaming."

Ronzino was booked into the Land O' Lakes Detention Center.