FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A newly released 911 call captures the frantic moments after, authorities said, a gun accidentally went off in a Pompano Beach apartment, sending a 4-year-old boy to the hospital.
The audio recording captures the fear, desperation and panic from the victim’s mother after, investigators said, her son accidentally shot himself with a gun, Wednesday night.
“OK, tell me exactly what happened,” said the 911 operator.
“My son just shot himself,” said the mother.
“Stay on the line with me. What’s your name?” said the operator. “Where’s the weapon now?”
“It’s in the house!” said the mother.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. at an apartment complex along the 4000 block of 15th Street in Pompano Beach.
Neighbors said they could hear the screams of panic as events unfolded.
“We just heard like the whole family running out, and it was like a really loud scream, it was like a something happened scream,” said Tiffany Monegato. “I got worried, I told my husband, ‘Something’s wrong, you know, that kind of scream isn’t normal.'”
Neighbors told 7News that the little boy lives at the apartment with his sister, believed to be about 6 or 8 years old, and their parents.
“They don’t bother anybody. The kids are always very healthy looking, they’re taken care of very well, they’re happy kids. I never even hear no arguing or yelling over here,” said Mary Willis.
Desperate for help, the parents drove the boy to the closest Pompano Beach Fire Rescue station.
“Where’s the closest hospital?!” said the mother on the 911 call
“Ma’am, we have the paramedics en route to you. You want me to let them know you’re going to the hospital?” said the operator.
“Go! Go to the fire department, right there,” the father could be heard saying frantically on the 911 call.
“Are you with the fire department?’ said the 911 operator.
“Yes. Oh, my God, oh, my God,” said the mother on the 911 call.
That’s when paramedics took over and rushed the child to the hospital.
“Is he OK?” his mother could be heard pleading.
Investigators spent hours processing both locations, where they took pictures of the car and collected boxes of evidence from the home as they pieced together the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s sad; I feel like crying just thinking about it,” said Monegato.
“My thoughts and prayers go out, and hopefully he pulls through,” said Willis.
As of Friday afternoon, the boy remains in critical condition at Broward Health Medical Center, detectives said.
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