A Northwestern Indiana man accused of inadvertently shooting and killing his 9-year-old daughter appeared in court for the first time Wednesday morning. Eric Hummel faces charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, battery resulting in death to a person less than 14 years old, reckless homicide and two counts of neglect of a dependent in the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Olivia Hummel, the Chicago Tribune reported. The 33-year-old father had been trying to teach his sons about gun safety the afternoon of June 10 when he showed them his 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, telling them “not to ever play with it because it can kill someone,” Hummel told police. When Olivia walked into the room, he pointed the firearm at her and shot her in the head. He’d thought the gun was empty, according to court records. Hummel’s frantic 911 call was recently released by authorities to the Tribune. “I had my gun, I didn’t realize there was a bullet in there, and I just shot my daughter,” Hummel says, breathing heavily. “Oh my god,” he says over and over. The dispatcher can be heard instructing Hummel to do CPR, while the father clarifies the instructions, fighting back tears. “She’s got blood everywhere,” he says. Olivia Hummel died about 30 minutes later at St. Mary Medical Center in Horbart, and her father was arrested. An autopsy report shows the 9-year-old was shot in the forehead from about two to three feet away. Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan on Wednesday read Hummel his charges and the punishments that comes with each — he faces 20 to 40 years alone on the neglect resulting in death charge. It’s a Level 1 Felony, according to the Tribune. Hummel’s attorney, Paul Stacci rejected claims the father knowingly endangered his children, calling them “ridiculous.” “Anyone who knows him knows he loves his kids more than anything in the world and would never do anything to hurt them,” Stacci told the Tribune last week. Stacci said Hummel intended to plead “not guilty” Wednesday. With News Wire Services

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