Naples father charged in fatal shooting of 13-year-old son while intoxicated

NAPLES, Fla. — A Naples man faces life in prison after being charged with fatally shooting his 13-year-old son while handling a firearm under the influence of alcohol last summer.

Gregory Anthony Zecca, 39, was arrested on a Collier County Sheriff's Office warrant charging him with aggravated manslaughter of a child with a firearm and using a firearm while under the influence in connection with the July 19, 2025 incident.

The investigation determined that Zecca drank alcohol over several hours at a local establishment, bought additional alcohol, and later used both alcohol and marijuana at a friend's home on Sumter Grove Way, deputies said. Zecca and his son were watching a UFC fight on TV when the shooting happened.

Inside the home, deputies said Zecca repeatedly handled a firearm in the child's presence, practicing drawing it from his waistband and dry-firing. The firearm had initially been rendered safe by removing the magazine and clearing a live round from the chamber, the sheriff's office said.

At some point, the magazine was reinserted and a round chambered, and Zecca discharged a single shot, fatally striking the child.

Responding deputies noted the odor of alcohol on Zecca and observed marijuana in plain view, they said. Detectives obtained two search warrants for medical records and a blood draw. A toxicology expert independently extrapolated both samples and estimated Zecca's blood-alcohol concentration to be approximately 0.116 at the time of the shooting, the sheriff's office said. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08. The toxicologist concluded Zecca was impaired by alcohol, deputies said.

The aggravated manslaughter charge carries a potential penalty of life in prison.

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