A 3-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was accidentally shot at a St. Louis home, police said.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
A man has been arrested after his 3-year-old grandson was accidentally shot while playing with a gun, according to Missouri State Police.
A boy and another child were playing with a gun at a St. Louis home on Wednesday, Jan. 17, according to the St. Louis Police Department. The gun went off, and the 3-year-old boy was shot in the back, police said.
The 3-year-old was taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition, police said.
Officers found the 48-year-old grandfather “confused” at home. He surrendered the gun he fired and was taken into custody, police said.
A gun was used in the shooting.380 ACP pistolwhich the grandfather kept in a dresser drawer, where there were also snacks and candy, KSDK reports, citing the indictment documents.
Grandfather, according to KTVI, was convicted in 2009 for second-degree drug trafficking. He admitted to police that he was prohibited from possessing a weapon, KTVI reported.
He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of a weapon.
St. Louis police urged residents use the gun lock to prevent accidental shots. Locks are available for free throughout the city.
