A 4-year-old boy was in stable condition Friday afternoon after accidentally shooting himself in the arm in a Sandy Springs apartment complex, police said.
Sandy Springs police spent Friday afternoon trying to figure out how the boy found the gun and who owned the weapon. The boy’s mother and two men inside the apartment at the time of the shooting gave police conflicting accounts, said Sgt. Ronald Momon. The gun was found hidden inside the apartment about three hours after the shooting, Momon said.
“There’s a lot of inconsistencies to their stories,” Momon said. “Someone’s trying to conceal what happened.”
Momon said charges are likely in the incident.
Police were notified at about 1:20 p.m. there was a shooting at The Parc at Dunwoody apartment complex near Pitts and Colquitt roads. Police took pictures of a bullet hole outside the apartment. Neighbors said they did not hear any gun shots, but some said they saw the boy on a stretcher as he was carted to an ambulance.
“He looked shocked,” said Itzel Gomez, 12.
Gomez said a woman was in tears, talking to police as the boy was taken to the ambulance. He was taken to Scottish Rite Hospital.
Georgia law allows prosecution of parents if they negligently allow minors to obtain guns to harm thesemves or another person. But law enforcement authorities have a great deal of discretion in prosecuting owners of guns that kill children.
In August, a 3-year-old Atlanta boy got access to a handgun and shot himself in the face. The boy was alone in a bedroom at a northwest Atlanta apartment when he started playing with the gun. He was initially listed in critical condition but later was listed as stable. Police said his mother had three unsecured guns in the home, including an AK-47. She was later charged with second-degree child cruelty and reckless conduct.
Between 1999 to 2010, 602 children died from gunshot wounds in Georgia, according to the CDC. That tally includes homicides, suicides and accidental shootings.
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