2-year-old boy shot after sibling mishandles gun in North Philadelphia
The boy's mother brought her child to Temple University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized in stable condition after another child mishandled a gun and unintentionally shot him Monday night in North Philadelphia, police said.
Around 8:10 p.m., his mother rushed the child, who had been shot in the shoulder, into Temple University Hospital, police said.
Investigators later learned the boy had been shot inside his home on the 2000 block of North 21st Street, after his sibling was handling a .380-caliber firearm and unintentionally fired it once, police said.
Police on Tuesday said they have charged the children’s mother, 30-year-old Regine Prentice, with endangering the welfare of a child and related crimes.
» READ MORE: 17 Philly children and teens shot themselves in 2023. CHOP’s new gun lock program aims to reverse the trend.
Experts have said that unintentional shootings of children are entirely preventable as long as gun owners keep their weapons stored safely and securely inside their homes.
Children are naturally curious and can easily find weapons hidden in places adults think may be secret. Research has shown that children as young as 2 are strong enough to pull the trigger, and that most know where a parent stores their weapons.
Storing guns safely is particularly important, experts said, as the rate of children shot in Philadelphia goes up, suicide rates among adolescents soar, and as guns have become a leading cause of death among American children.
Pennsylvania does not have a law that requires gun owners to store a weapon in a certain way. The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Temple University Hospital all provide free gun locks to anyone in need, no questions asked.