A man is in critical condition after being shot by his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in Virginia on Monday morning.
As reported by local news station WTVR, the incident occurred when the man was about to leave and placed his handgun on a chair. The toddler managed to grab the gun, which resulted in an accidental discharge.
Fortunately, no one else was harmed, and the man was airlifted to the hospital, WTVR added.
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Neighbor Lisa Wood shared her shock with WTVR, saying, “[Monday] was just a day that, you know, that wasn’t good.”
She witnessed several police cars rushing down the street in Ettrick and received a distressed call from the child’s mother asking for help.
Wood recalled, “She was like ‘Miss Wood,’ and when I asked what was wrong, she was crying. Then she told me her son shot… I couldn’t believe it.” She noted that after she entered the house, the child was calm and cheerful, showing no signs of distress.
Wood expressed her intention to support the family during this difficult time, stating, “I just want to show them love… I really don’t know how she feels. But all I can do is give my love,” she said.
In a similar incident last November, a 4-year-old girl in Miami-Dade, Florida, suffered critical injuries after her sibling accidentally shot her with an unsecured gun. Detective Andre Martin stressed the importance of safe firearm storage, stating, “A firearm should be stored in a secured lock box, safe, or in a place that is not accessible to small children.”
“We urge everyone in our community—whether you own a firearm or not—to talk about safe gun management with their children. Guns are not toys,” he added.
A 2023 study revealed that around 90 percent of accidental shooting deaths among children under 15 involve unsecured firearms, with 80 percent belonging to older relatives.