A 5-year-old boy with autism accidentally shot himself in the head over the weekend at his home in Eustis, according to authorities.
The shooting happened around 9 a.m. on Sunday on Hunters Trail.
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Eustis police claimed the boy acquired his father’s gun and shot himself.
“I think this could be a wake-up call for a lot of other parents that if you have guns in your house and you have young children or any children for that matter,” said Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri. “Secure your weapons, know where your weapons are all the time, your firearms, and secure them, build that muscle memory so you know where the gun is at all times.”
A neighbor, a licensed flight nurse, helped the child before police arrived, according to the case report.
According to authorities, the child was transported to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and underwent surgery. The boy remained in stable condition as of Monday.
Family members stated that their firearms were normally housed in lockboxes on the top shelf of a bedroom closet. It’s unclear how the toddler got possession of the gun.
Police are not suspecting foul play in the gunshot, which they are calling an “accident.”
“When you think about it, a five-year-old boy or any child, for that matter of fact, getting shot with a gun, an accidental shot — it makes you really start putting things in perspective how young kids have access to guns,” said Capri.
