An Allentown man, who left a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun unattended with two children in the house, resulting in the accidental shooting and killing of one of them, accepted a plea agreement in Lehigh County Court this week.

Jose Hilario Abreu, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in which the victim was under 12 years of age and endangering the welfare of a child.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced the guilty plea in which Hilario Abreu faces a minimum jail sentence of 18-30 months. He will be sentenced on the two charges, both felonies, on Feb. 11, 2025, by Judge Robert L. Steinberg.

Details of the case investigated by Allentown Police Department detectives Joseph Beiner and Harold Bonser, as well as the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and the Lehigh County Firearm and Toolmark Laboratory, with assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police, showed that at about 11:53 a.m. on March 28, a woman called the Lehigh County 911 Communications Center and reported her 3-year-old son, Elijah Abreu Borgen, grabbed a gun and shot himself in the chest.

The boy was found with life-threatening injuries and taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, where he later died of a gunshot wound to the torso.

Holihan said the investigation revealed that Jose Hilario Abreu had a loaded Glock handgun in the home that had a live cartridge in its chamber.

Evidence showed when the gun was discharged, it was unholstered and resting atop a pillow on the couch where both toddlers were sitting.

Police conducted a rapid gunshot residue test on Elijah after his death and yielded a presumptive positive indication for gunshot residue on his hands, Holihan said.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara A. Moyer and Senior Deputy District Attorney Sarah Heimbach.