A 5-year-old boy is recovering after he shot himself in the leg inside a home in Philadelphia's Strawberry mansion neighborhood, police said.
The incident occurred late Wednesday morning around 11:30 a.m. inside a home along the 3100 block of North Patton Street. Police told NBC10 the boy found a gun that was hidden but not secured in a manila folder in the back of the home. The boy grabbed the gun, began playing with it and accidentally shot himself in the leg, investigators said.
Responding police officers rushed the boy to the hospital where he is currently in stable condition.
"A child having to deal with this at all is traumatic in itself but the fact that he's in stable condition, we're very thankful and I'm sure his family feels the same way," Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said.
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The boy's mother, grandmother, and three other children were also inside the home at the time, according to investigators.
Police are currently questioning the grandmother and mother, who investigators say has a license to carry. Police are also urging gun owners to secure their weapons, especially around children.
"Making sure folks understand the need to have weapons not just hidden away, but secured with gun locks in a safe somewhere where a child cannot access it and actually fire the weapon," Stanford said.
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The Philadelphia Sheriff's Department gives out free gun locks. You can pick one up at the front desk of the Sheriff’s Office on the 5th Floor of 100 S. Broad Street between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or call their hotline number at 215-686-3572. Leave your name, number and address and someone from the Sheriff’s Office will quickly be in touch with you.
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