A 4-year-old child got a hold of a parent's handgun Wednesday at their home in Middleburg and accidentally fired it. The child was struck but the injuries were not life-threatening, the Clay County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies were called to the home in the 2400 block of Clover Avenue at about 12:15 p.m. No one else was injured and no charges have been filed. Whether the child is a boy or girl was not released, nor where the wound was sustained.
The Sheriff's Office said the investigation is ongoing to determine how the firearm was stored and who else was present in the home at the time. The Sheriff's Office also is working with the Florida Department of Children and Families and the State Attorney’s Office on the matter.
In some cases, culpable negligence charges are assessed under specific circumstances against caregivers.
The Times-Union has requested the incident report.
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Gun safety and prevention
Although Wednesday's shooting has not been determined where the firearm was accessed, nonprofit organizations like States United to Prevent Gun Violence push for proper gun storage, stating that eight children a day are shot by a misused or unlocked gun.
The group reminds parents to empty and lock up a gun to prevent "a parent’s worst nightmare: Their child handling a loaded gun."
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that the safest home for a child is one without guns. If a gun is in a home, it should be unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately with no access to keys or combinations, the academy states. Loaded guns should not be stored unlocked in a car either.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Clay County Sheriff's Office: 4-year-old child accidentally shoots self with parent's gun
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