GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Police in Gaston County are investigating after they said a 2-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the stomach early Thursday morning.
Officials told Channel 9 that the toddler was somehow shot with his father’s gun at a home on New Moon Lane in Bessemer City.
The boy’s parents, Michael Walls and Misty Ware, drove him to the hospital where he was then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
Officials said the child's injury is non-life threatening.
Neighbors said that Ware told them that the child somehow got a hold of the gun and shot himself in the stomach.
Police told Channel 9 that the family is cooperating and that there was no indications that the shooting was intentional.
From Chopper 9 Skyzoom, three Gaston County police cruisers could be seen around the mobile home, and officers had put up crime tape on the steps.
Detectives said the boy’s father is cooperating with the investigation but those who live nearby were furious the boy was shot, even if it was an accident.
“Are there adults in that home?” neighbor Cindy Wells said. “Do they know what to do with a gun? Is it supposed to be in the hands of a child? I’m upset.”
Neighbors said the boy’s father has a reputation for firing his gun in the area.
“There’s been several times where I’ve seen him out here shooting at people’s feet and acting crazy,” Amanda Cunningham said.
No further details have been released by police.
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