A four-year-old boy has been hospitalized in Georgia after “accidentally” shooting himself outside a Burger King, according to police.
Gwinnett County Police rushed to help the child who shot his hand by accident near the fast food restaurant in Dacula on Wednesday morning, local outlets reported, citing authorities.
Police said the boy was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta with non-life-threatening injuries.
The child’s mother told FOX 5 Atlanta she took her son to Burger King for breakfast and was sitting with him in the car when she received a call from her neighbor about her dog being hit by a semi-truck.
The mother said her dog of 10 years had been killed in the crash, and upon hearing the news, she didn’t notice that her son had taken a Glock from the car, WALB reported. The mother said her son pointed the gun at her, but when he fired, he struck his own index finger, according to the local outlet.
She told FOX 5 Atlanta the gun belonged to her husband.
It’s unclear where in the car the boy found the gun. WALB said it was in the glove compartment and FOX 5 Atlanta said it was in the center console.
No charges have been filed in connection with the shooting as of Wednesday afternoon. The Independent has reached out to Gwinnett County Police for comment.
Georgia is one of 24 states that have not adopted laws requiring guns be safely stored to prevent children and others with unauthorized access from getting their hands on them, according to gun violence prevention group Everytown for Gun Safety.
There have already been at least 33 unintentional shootings by children across the country this year, including two in Georgia, Everytown says. Those shootings resulted in 10 deaths and 23 injuries, according to the gun violence prevention group.
