A 12-year-old boy was shot in the head in southwest Atlanta when a gun he and his older brother were playing with accidentally went off Monday, police said.
Officers who responded to the 3900 block of Rutgers Drive about 11:45 p.m. learned the child and his 14-year-old brother found the gun Sunday. They were “playing with the pistol” Monday when it accidentally discharged and hit the preteen, Atlanta police spokesman Officer Steve Avery said Tuesday in an emailed statement.
Police said the wounded child was stable when he was taken to the hospital.
The pistol was seized by police, and the incident remains under investigation, Avery said.
The shooting occurred 10 days after DeKalb County police said 5-year-old Jada Willingham was shot and killed in a Lithonia home by a playmate. Police arrested 36-year-old Chad Brooks Sr. in connection with the shooting. He is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children after police said in his arrest warrant that he left the handgun unattended.
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