Reckless Guns: Texas 4-year-old Shoots 7-month-old Baby

A 7-month-old baby is in hospital after being accidentally shot by a 4-year-old at a house in Temple, Texas.

The condition of the infant is unknown following the shooting at a house in the 300 block of South 25th Street at around 2:31 p.m. local time. KWKT-TV reports that the baby was conscious and breathing when taken to McLane Children’s Hospital.

There are conflicting reports about whether the 7-month-old is a boy or a girl. The Temple Police Department are expected to give further information on the incident later today.

Police said they received a 911 call from a woman at the house who is believed to be the mother of one or both of the children. Shawana Neely, a spokeswoman for the Temple Police Department, added the woman was the only adult inside the property at the time.

Further details are still scant at this stage, including what type of weapon was used or how the 4-year-old got hold of it. Police have so far only said the shooting appears to be an accident that took police inside the home.

KWTX-TV reports that there is a sign outside the home in Temple that warns people that there are weapons inside. The sign reads: “The average response time of a 911 call is 23 minutes. The response time of a .357 is 14 hundred feet per second.”

Temple resident Bradley Martin described the scene as the baby was taken away by emergency services. “[The baby] just looked lifeless in his hands,” he said. “There was blood all over [the infant]. They put [the baby] in the back of an ambulance and took off down the road.”

Neighbor Adrian Martinez said he does not blame the family for what occurred.

“I’m not there to judge them, but in my family, it happened once with my cousin,” Martinez told KXXV. “My cousin killed accidentally my other cousin. It happens. Accidents happen.”

“I hope the baby’s OK, and I hope the family is going to be alright,” fellow local resident Ami Fontenot added. “And, if they’re going to have guns, take precautions, obviously.”

ED: Really? “It happens.” Really?  We are so inured to gun violence no one even bothers to condemn parents who leave guns laying about where their children can use them to shoot their other children.  Wow.  Just wow. (MJS)