With a loaded revolver he seized from the family car’s central console, a two-year-old Texas child shot his mother and one-year-old baby.
The shooting occurred around 11.25 a.m. on Wednesday in the parking lot of a Walmart on US Highway 377 in Granbury, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, according to police.
The 2-year-old stole the gun from between a seat and the central console while in the car with a 1-year-old sibling and their 23-year-old mother standing outside near the driver’s side door, according to Granbury police.
According to Mail Online, the woman was shot in the arm and chest, while her baby was injured in the leg.
According to authorities, the children’s 26-year-old father was standing at the vehicle’s back and was unharmed.
According to police Lt. Russell Grizzard, the mother was evacuated to a hospital in Fort Worth in serious condition, and her 1-year-old was taken by ambulance to another hospital.
At this time, their conditions remain unknown.
According to Grizzard, police are still investigating and have not yet decided if the parents will face prosecution.
”It’s possible,’ Grizzard told Local 12. ‘It’s too early in an investigation to determine if any criminal charges are going to be appropriate, but we will look into that.’
The parents’ and children’s names have not been revealed.
In a Facebook post, Jerry Patterson, a former Texas senator, encouraged parents:
“Handguns should be carried, or secured away from toddlers and teens, not left in the car, on the nightstand, or in a dresser drawer, etc.
“And don’t claim “a 2 year old isn’t strong enough to pull the trigger”.
“A 2 year old likely isn’t strong enough to pull the trigger on a double-action revolver but is strong enough to pull the trigger on a striker-fired semi-auto pistol. SECURE YOUR FIREARMS!”
