Toddler picks up handgun and shoots man at Matoaca residence; investigation ongoing

MATOACA – Police say a man was shot Monday morning by his gun when it was picked up by a young child.

It happened around 9:45 a.m. in the 4400 block of Butler Lane between Ettrick and Matoaca, Chesterfield Police spokesperson Elizabeth Caroon told The Progress-Index. The victim was airlifted to a Richmond hospital in critical condition with a single gunshot wound.

Caroon said the man was preparing to leave the residence and had placed his handgun on a chair. Before he could retrieve it, a 3-year-old picked up the gun from the chair and it went off accidentally.

Neither the child nor anyone else in the house was injured, Caroon said. Their identities have not been released.

Caroon said the child and victim are known to each other but not related.

“The investigation is ongoing,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Toddler picks up handgun and shoots man at Matoaca residence; investigation ongoing