A toddler in Las Vegas accidentally shot himself after he found a gun lying on the floor in his daycare playground.
The toddler, who has been taken to hospital to treat his injuries, found the gun that was discarded by a teenager who was fleeing a scene after he opened fire on a bus, authorities said.
The young child, who is under five years old, “found the firearm, picked it up, and the firearm discharged,” Deputy Police Chief Reggie Rader said in a police briefing on friday.
Mr Rader told reporters that the toddler was in a stable but critical condition as of Friday.
On Friday morning, a teenager under the age of 18 had opened fire on an adult teenager after they had a physical altercation on an RTC city bus, police said.
The two teenagers allegedly got into an argument on the bus when the suspect pulled out a gun and shot at him, Mr Rader said.
The teenager then escaped the bus and ran around less than half a mile away to the daycare centre.
The toddler has critical injuries but was stable, police said— (NBC)
The suspect then allegedly jumped the wall near the daycare, where he discarded his gun.
The adult teenager is also in hospital but is believed to be in a stable condition, Mr Rader said.
Some parents and guardians at the daycare are in shock at what happened.
“It’s scary, and it’s sad, a two-year-old was coming to school and [was] thinking he [was] just picking up a f****** toy gun probably,” one mother said to NBC.
Tory Farmer, an aunt of one of the young girls who attends the daycare, was upset at how the centre treated the situation.
“They didn’t tell us what happened; they just said for us to come [they didn’t say] it [was] an emergency for us to come to pick up the kids,” she told Fox5.
She blamed the daycare centre for what happened and said her sister will most likely disenroll her niece.
“They’re supposed to be protected, [if they were] doing the proper cleaning outside, they should have found the gun, honestly.”
Police found the suspect in northeastern Las Vegas near the daycare and was arrested.
Mr Rader said that they are still working on what charges the teenager will face or whether he will be charged as an adult.
