Second Louisville Toddler Shoots Self in Three Weeks

Second Louisville Toddler Shoots Self in Three Weeks
A police car in Louisville, Ky., on May 3, 2013. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Chris Jasurek
12/4/2017
Updated:
12/4/2017

The Louisville Metro Police Department reports that a 3-year-old child accidentally shot himself on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 3. The child’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Louisville Metro Police spokesperson Alicia Smiley said that the child shot himself shortly before 11 a.m. in an apartment at the 1500 block of Oleanda Avenue, in Louisville, Kentucky.

The child’s father placed the injured, but conscious, child in his car and headed northeast towards the Norton Children’s Hospital, about 10 miles away.

The site of the shooting, at the 1500 block of Oleanda Ave, the collision, at South Fourth and West Hill, and the ultimate destination, the Norton Children’s Hospital. (Screen shot Bing Maps)
The site of the shooting, at the 1500 block of Oleanda Ave, the collision, at South Fourth and West Hill, and the ultimate destination, the Norton Children’s Hospital. (Screen shot Bing Maps)
However, while crossing the intersection of South Fourth Street and West Hill Avenue, the father’s car collided with another vehicle, according to The Associated Press.
LMPD officers responded to the scene and found the wounded child with his father. They put the child in an ambulance and took him the rest of the way to Norton Children’s Hospital. They say the child’s injuries are non-life-threatening.

Police are investigating how the child got hold of a gun.

This is the second such tragedy in just under three weeks in Louisville.

On the night of Monday, Nov. 13, another three-year-old child was seriously injured when he somehow found a gun at a car lot in the 2000 block of South Hurstbourne Lane and shot himself in the head.

It appears that the firearm was in the car and unsecured, though exactly how the child got the gun is unclear.

The child’s parents had just finished looking at car they were considering buying and were preparing to drive home.

The child was in the car with a sibling and his mother when the incident occurred.

The wounded child was reported to have been alert and trying to open his eyes after the shooting.

The child was rushed to Norton Children’s Hospital for immediate surgery and listed in serious condition.

Police have ruled the incident an accidental shooting. LMPD Sgt. Scott Beatty told WLKY that the tragedy points to the importance of firearm safety.

“We always want to stress safety. Just always be mindful if you do have firearms and small children please be smart about it. Make sure they’re stored safely, unloaded, and the safety is on,” he said.

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From NTD.tv