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- A 3-year-old boy in Texas died on Saturday after accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a family member’s gun, according to a press release from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
- During the boy’s birthday party, he picked up a gun that had fallen out of a family member’s pocket, police said.
- In 2018, at least 73 kids under the age of 12 died in accidents related to access to firearms, USA Today reported.
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A 3-year-old boy in Texas died on Saturday after accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a family member’s gun, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
The boy’s friends and family were gathered in Porter, Texas, for his birthday party, according to police. While the group was playing cards, they heard a gunshot. A police investigation found that the boy had grabbed a pistol after it had fallen out of a family member’s pocket.
The boy was brought to a nearby fire station, where he died from his wounds. He has not been identified.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends [in] this tragic accident,” the sheriff’s office said.
In 2018, at least 73 children under the age of 12 died in accidents related to access to firearms, USA Today reported.
Earlier this month, another 3-year-old boy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Aloha, Oregon, according to local news station KATU. The boy had found a handgun in a nightstand and accidentally shot himself in the head.
"I think if you ask any first responder, the death of a child is the absolute worst call that we go to," Shannon Wilde, a deputy at the Washington County Sheriff's office, told KATU.