Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin said Wednesday that 26-year-old Jose Alvarado was also charged with endangering the welfare of children and with drug counts.
Authorities said Jose Alvarado Jr. shot himself Jan. 8 with the 9mm semiautomatic weapon. Martin said the father had put the loaded weapon into the child's backpack, which also contained the boy's videogames, and left it on the floor of the parents' bedroom.
Martin said he did not know why the father put the gun in the backpack. The gun was registered to the boy's mother, who has not been charged.
A listed number for Alvarado could not be found Wednesday and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.
