kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612
DURHAM – A 4-year-old boy shot himself in the head by accident Friday morning after finding a loaded gun in his parents’ kitchen, Durham police said.
The child was taken to Duke Hospital for treatment. His condition was unavailable Friday evening.
Police were called to a home at 14 Brightfield Lane, in an upscale subdivision in northern Durham, at 8:46 a.m. to help paramedics with the child. Initial reports said the boy hurt his head when he fell off a counter. But after a preliminary investigation by detectives, it appeared the boy found a firearm and was injured when it discharged, a police news release said.
Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez confirmed that the boy accidentally shot himself in the head after finding an unsecured handgun in the kitchen.
At midafternoon Friday, police removed a small ladder and bags of items from the home.
A van was in the driveway with stickers representing family members – two adults, two children, a dog and a cat.
“This was a very unfortunate incident,” Lopez said. “He [the boy] was being curious with a gun that he found. It reinforces the need for gun safety and the proper securing of firearms.”
Lopez said police had made no decision on possible charges.
“At this point, that’s still under investigation,” he said. “We’re looking into it to see if charges are going to arise out of it.”
The house is part of Ashfield Place, a relatively new development with homes under construction.
One resident, Jose Ramos, is a board member of the homeowners association and has lived in Ashfield Place for about three years. He said the board is considering offering an online gun safety class for the neighborhood.
Another homeowner, Anna Williams, said residents were notified of the shooting by email and text messages soon after it happened.
“Probably, everybody will be pretty shaken up,” she said. “Everybody pretty much knows everybody. It’s a community-community.”
