A 3-year-old boy in Florida found a gun inside a couch and shot a 2-year-old girl in the home while three grownups were busy watching basketball late Saturday night, Florida cops said.
The boy ran crying from the room and the adults took her to a hospital — crashing their car on the way, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Saturday.
“It can’t be stressed enough, if you have firearms in your home, keep them away from children,” Judd said in a statement.
“A beautiful little girl is fighting for her life right now because another child who didn’t know any better was able to get his hands on a loaded gun,” he added.
Lakeland Police responded to a two-car crash and found one of the cars was on the way to the hospital with the gunshot victim. A Good Samaritan took the child to the hospital, cops said.
The little girl was shot once in the chest and sustained severe injuries to her internal organs, authorities said. She remained in “exceptionally critical” but stable condition, a sheriff said during a press conference Saturday.
The mother of the girl, who was not at the house at the time of the shooting, told police the two children were supposed to be at her home, according to the sheriff’s office.
But two witnesses — Kevonte Wilson and Rodderick Haynes, both 23 – told investigators they were watching basketball when the 3-year-old boy found the gun. The gun belonged to Wilson, cops said.
Wilson had “hidden” the gun in the couch, authorities said.
Wilson, who had previous arrests including grand theft, is facing charges such as carrying a concealed firearm and failure to store a firearm.