A young boy was shot in the head after finding a gun in the woods and mistaking it for a BB gun – but escaped without serious injuries.
The unnamed boy, 11, remarkably only suffered a graze to the head after he and another boy found the weapon in Southampton, Hampshire, on April 7, police said.
They thought it was a BB gun and took it home, where they fired it once.
Hampshire Constabulary has confirmed that the gun was in fact a pistol that was found in woodland near Wadhurst Gardens.
The police were alerted to the situation just before 5.30 pm that evening, and were taken to the area where the gun was found by the children.
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Parts of a nature reserve in the area, Westwood Nature Reserve, have remained cordoned off for three days, and police remain at the scene today.
Chief Inspector Chris Douglas, deputy district commander for Southampton, said: ‘As soon as this incident was reported to us on Tuesday, our teams were swiftly in attendance and have been carrying out thorough enquiries and searches in the area since.
‘We know that our scenes will have disrupted people’s normal daily routines, and we want to thank local residents for their patience as we carry out our investigation.’
‘Thankfully, this discovery has not resulted in more serious injuries, and the boys and their families have acted quickly to report the matter to us and allow us to start further enquiries.
‘These kinds of firearms are often used to threaten people and cause serious harm, and we are committed to tackling and disrupting serious criminal activity.
Previously, a three-year-old boy accidentally shot himself dead after finding a loaded gun lying around his home.
Chrisaiah Arrington died at his home in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2019, with his mother, Linda Arrington, hearing a ‘pop’ coming from his bedroom as he pulled the trigger.
He was rushed to the hospital but sadly pronounced dead soon afterwards, the Jackson Sun reported.
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