A 3-year-old boy in Texas died on Saturday after accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a family member’s gun.
via Insider:
The boy’s friends and family were gathered in Porter, Texas, for his birthday party, according to police. While the group was playing cards, they heard a gunshot. A police investigation found that the boy had grabbed a pistol after it had fallen out of a family member’s pocket.
The boy was brought to a nearby fire station, where he died from his wounds. He has not been identified.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends [in] this tragic accident,” the sheriff’s office said.
In 2018, at least 73 children under the age of 12 died in accidents related to access to firearms, USA Today reported.
Earlier this month, another 3-year-old boy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Aloha, Oregon, according to local news station KATU. The boy had found a handgun in a nightstand and accidentally shot himself in the head.
“I think if you ask any first responder, the death of a child is the absolute worst call that we go to,” Shannon Wilde, a deputy at the Washington County Sheriff’s office, told KATU.
Accidents do happen, but it’s unfortunate that the family member who lost track of his gun has to live with this incident for the rest of his life.
