Daniel John Prunster: Geraldton dad charged over pointing gun at baby daughter claims he is a ‘good father’

A Woorree man who admitted a criminal charge of pointing a gun at his daughter, among a string of other firearms offences, has spoken out to defend himself as a “hardworking” and “good” father. Daniel John Prunster, 25, says his daughter grabbed one of his guns while he was cleaning it and denied the gun was pointing at her in the photograph. He pleaded guilty in Geraldton Magistrate’s Court on April 1 to pointing a firearm at another person, inadequate storage facility for firearms, failing to comply with firearm or ammunition storage requirements and possessing cannabis. Though not part of his criminal charges, Prunster also posted a photograph on his Facebook page with a photo of his newborn son with an ammunition belt draped across him in his crib, with the caption, “My nugget trying to be a Russian”. Police prosecutor Sgt Troy Gildersleeve told the court the situation was “a recipe for disaster” and said police found 104 shotgun and rifle rounds and two magazines of live ammunition unsecured, as well as a personal amount of cannabis from a search of Prunster’s partner’s car and their house, while the key to the gun safe was left inside the car. A phone was also seized showing photographs of Prunster pointing a shotgun at his then 15-month-old daughter, and the toddler holding a rifle. Prunster, a licensed firearm holder of a .22-calibre rifle, .223-calibre rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun, told the Geraldton Guardian he was a hard-working man who supported his children, his partner and her two children from a previous relationship. He commented on a post on his own profile, with remarks including, “Here’s the bad photo”, and, “C...s not even pointed at her”, appearing to have deleted the image in question. Magistrate Chris Miocevich granted the Geraldton Guardian permission on Friday to view the images used as evidence in the case, which clearly showed Prunster pointing the firearm point-blank at his daughter. He was captured holding a shotgun and pointing it down towards his daughter, who was standing across from him, opposite a chest of drawers and a bed. The image, taken from the bed, also showed the toddler holding a rifle, bigger than herself, upside down and pointed upwards towards her father with the butt of the gun resting on the floor behind her and her hands over the barrel and bolt handle. A second photo showed the same scene from Prunster’s point of view, with the barrel of his weapon close to his daughter’s face and a woman bent over the bed to his right. He took to his Facebook page on Thursday to say he knew he had made some stupid decisions in his life, but was a good father and thought the situation had been blown “out of proportion”. “I know I’ve made some stupid f...... decisions and let (sic) a ‘cool’ photo showing my daughter how to hold a gun without a bolt or ammunition in it as I had just fully cleaned them and was putting them straight away,” he wrote. “And she grabbed one so I decided to show her. I know it’s no excuse as I know it’s not right but f... me have you seen how many c...s have photos like that ... people don’t actually give a f... “I didn’t think it was bad as I wasn’t doing it to harm her or threaten her or anyone else. The ammo belt on my son had empty shells (sic) was a gift from my uncle that was passed down to me and I was just proud to show it off”. “I love my family and kids more than anything and have worked my a.. off to give us the best. No one is in danger in our home. Cops came here for something they weren’t gonna find so they had to get some b......t story out of it and then the media blew it way out of proportion.” Police have requested the removal of Prunster’s firearms licence, destruction of the guns, ammunition and cannabis. He will be sentenced on April 19.