3-year-old grabs unattended gun, shoots woman in Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 3-year-old shot an adult woman after grabbing hold of an unsecured gun on Monday, police in Wilson, Northampton County, said in a news release.

The child was at a home on Forest Street in Wilson with Brian Siegfried, a 41-year-old resident of Williams Township. Citing witnesses, police said Siegfried was holding a handgun while on the porch of a home.

"At some point, Siegfried cocked the gun and placed it on a table and walked the street. Siegfried also stated to police that he was tired of holding the gun and put it down," Wilson police said.

The 3-year-old then picked up the gun and accidentally fired it, shooting a 33-year-old woman in the back. The woman, a resident of Wilson, was taken to a nearby hospital and had emergency surgery. She is expected to survive.

There were multiple children under the age of 5 near the gun when it was left on the table, according to police. The child who fired it was not injured.

He is now charged with felony aggravated assault, five counts of recklessly endangering another person and a gun charge.

The gun charge was filed because Siegfried was barred from possessing a handgun due to a Protection From Abuse Order filed against him, according to police.

Siegfried was booked in the Northampton County Jail.

Wilson is a borough just outside of Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley.

Guns can be secured with a gun lock. Currently, in Pennsylvania, there is no law that requires gun owners to possess a lock.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services , your local Pennsylvania State Police station may have free firearm cable locks available. You can find a list of PSP troops and their phone numbers on PA.Gov.