A 10-year-old boy was flown to the hospital after being shot in the head when a gun he and a friend were playing with discharged, Galveston County’s sheriff said.
It happened Tuesday afternoon in the 17700 block of Elizabeth Street, in far west Galveston County between Santa Fe and Alvin.
Santa Fe Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the scene. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the shooting, but Sheriff Henry Trochesset said it appears to be accidental and it’s not yet clear if any adults were aware the children had the semi-automatic pistol.
“They went to an adult toward the front house and they aided in first aid until law enforcement and EMS arrived,” he said.
State Highway 6 was closed temporarily in the area so the Memorial Hermann Life Flight helicopter could land to airlift the boy to the hospital.
The child was in surgery for hours at last check Tuesday night. Trochesset said he is expected to survive.
The sheriff’s office investigation will look into what happened, who owns the gun, and how the kids got ahold of it.