HARRIS COUNTY – An investigation is underway after deputies said a 4-year-old accidentally shot a 1-year-old in northeast Harris County.
The shooting happened in the 17100 block of Sunshine Street around 4:30 p.m.
“A 4-year-old had found an unsecured weapon inside the house and while playing with that gun, shot the 1-year-old sibling in the lower left leg,” HCSO Deputy Thomas Gilliland said at the scene.
The toddler was quickly rushed to the hospital for surgery. HCSO’s Crime Against Children Unit is looking into what happened.
“Determine why the gun was unsecured and how he was able to get that gun and manipulate it and then fire it,” Deputy Gilliland said.
Off camera, the boys’ father told KPRC 2 News he never thought he’d be in this situation with his children because he is a gun owner and said he knows how to safely store it. He wasn’t home when it happened, but said the boys were with their mother and her family members when they got ahold of a pistol.
The father said he believes curiosity got the best of his son and doesn’t believe it would have happened if he was home.
“Four-year-olds, 5-year-olds, they’re inquisitive. Having it unsecured can lead to tragic things like this,” Deputy Gilliland said. “These are things that we really don’t like responding to, we have more and more of them happening.”
Investigators plan to present the case to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges.
@HCSOTexas units responded to an incident at the 17100 blk of Sunshine Street. Preliminary: a preschooler (approx 4 yrs) found an unsecured pistol at home and unintentionally shot a 1-yr-old toddler/sibling. The toddler has been taken to a hospital; wound does not
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) May 16, 2023
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