(By Maria Catanzarite, Shaun Gallagher, WNDU) ELKHART — Two children are being treated for gunshot wounds after one of them pulled out a gun and accidentally shot himself and his sister during what he thought was a home invasion.
Shortly before 7:44 p.m. on Monday, a 14-year-old boy, 9-year-old boy, and 6-year-old girl were at their home when someone started yelling and banging their front door.
The kids were frightened, and that’s when the 14-year-old boy got a handgun from inside the home to protect himself and his siblings.
While he was handling the gun, his 6-year-old sister grabbed him around the waist, startling him. The 14-year-old boy accidentally fired the gun, and the bullet grazed his own leg and struck his 6-year-old sister in the upper leg.
The children then ran to a neighbor’s house to call for help.
“I opened the door, and there was a young man standing there with a young child in his hands and he said “She’s been shot! She’s been shot! My little sister’s been shot!” said Kathy Cook, who helped the two children. “I took the child, had them come in, laid the child on the ground, and he kept screaming, ‘I need my mom! I need my mom!’ The child had definitely been shot in the leg.”
The 14-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl were both sent to Elkhart General Hospital for treatment, and neither appear to have life-threatening injuries.
“As sad as it is, a six-year-old shot in the leg,” Sgt. Chris Snyder with the Elkhart Police Department said. “It certainly could have been a lot worse for her. I had the opportunity last night to talk with the child’s mom a little bit. She’s very shaken. The 14-year-old with the gun was very emotional and very shaken up about it.”
The handgun belonged to their mother and was recovered at the scene. She was out of the house getting dinner.
Snyder says the gun was owned legally. He says it’s too soon to say if she’ll be charged but there is a possibility of looking into recklessness or neglect charges once the investigation is complete.
There are plenty of unanswered questions with the investigation. Like, who was outside of the house that startled the kids or how the kids got the gun? But Sgt. Snyder says this is a great opportunity to preach gun safety with children.
“Gun locks, gun lockers, gun safes,” Snyder said. “Those are all very important. Getting guns up and out of reach. The other thing is gun safety. Talking to your kids. If there is a gun in the house, it’s important they know what the gun can do. Obviously, depending on the age of the child, what you want them to do. If you want them to touch it or not to touch it. It’s certainly important when you have kids in the house, make sure they’re locked up and put out of reach.”
