2-year-old child accidentally shoots mother’s boyfriend

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) - A man is in critical condition after a child got a hold of his gun and accidentally shot him Monday morning, according to officials.

Police say just before 10 a.m., officers were called to a home in the 4400 block of Butler Lane for a reported shooting.

When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound.

The victim was airlifted to the hospital.

Police believe the victim was preparing to leave and placed his gun on a nearby chair.

Shortly after, a 2-year-old child grabbed the gun.

“The child accidentally discharged the firearm, shooting the victim,” Chesterfield police said.

Nobody else in the house, including the child, was hurt.

Neighbors called the incident a freak accident, saying they never would have expected something to happen in their small community.

Lisa Wood says she is practically a second mother to the people inside the home where the shooting happened. She describes the victim and the toddler as happy, sweet people with only good intentions.

She says the victim’s girlfriend called her right after it all happened and she rushed over.

“The little boy is a go-lucky little boy. He’s always playing. He’s very happy. You never really see him in a really bad mood. He always wants to play and he always wants to smile,” Wood said. “After I went into the house, he was sitting there like a normal kid. It’s not like, he’s worried or anything like that. He still has a smile. I just don’t understand what really took place.”

Wood has lived in the Ettrick neighborhood, where the incident happened, for more than a decade. She raised her children around there and helped take care of many others.

She says it is a friendly, quiet spot.

Other neighbors agree, saying the occasional loud parties are the only activity they ever have around there. It’s why people were shocked to see police lights in the morning on their street.

“They’re good people. You know, people make mistakes and this is a really big learning experience for everybody,” neighbor April Hill said. “Not just the family, but this happened really close to home. If it happened there, it can happen anywhere.”

The incident is drawing more attention to gun safety in the neighborhood, especially since it is close to Virginia State University, where neighbors were shocked by a shooting just a week earlier.

“It’s definitely a learning experience. I hate that there had to be something extremely bad that happened in all of this and my heart really does go out to the family, but this will be a story that I will be able to tell my children whenever they get a little bit older,” Hill said.

Both those who own guns and those who do not in the area agree there needs to be better protection, especially when it comes to locking up firearms.

“We need to be more mindful of our children, not to lay weapons just anywhere, especially when they’re loaded,” Wood said. “I feel like there should be more training with guns because I felt like the clip should have been removed from the gun, or the bullets, whichever there were, from the round. The ammunition should have been removed before it was placed wherever it was placed for a child to be able to get to it, and I think this is a learning lesson for this community.”

Moving forward, residents in the area say they will discuss gun safety, be there for each other, and continue to build on the neighborly support in their area to protect future kids.

“It’s hard to just say it’s going to be OK because I’m not in that predicament and I really, truly don’t know how she feels, but all I can do is give my love,” Wood said.

Chesterfield police say the investigation is ongoing.

Copyright 2024 WWBT via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.