MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A child was hospitalized after he shot himself with his mother’s gun at a parking lot in Miami Gardens, according to police.
Officers responded to the area of Northwest 210th Street and 22nd Avenue around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday in reference to a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound involving a toddler.
“It looks like it may be in the parking lot,” said a dispatcher. “Advising that there’s a gun left in the vehicle and the child picked it up and somehow got shot. I’ll let you know when police arrive.”
According to police, an investigation revealed the boy pulled a gun out of his mother’s purse and accidentally shot himself in the leg.
“The toddler was in the back seat of the vehicle. He grabbed his mother’s purse, took out a firearm, and shot himself in the leg,” said a Miami Gardens Police spokesperson Diana Delgado.
Police focused their investigation on a white car. Blood stains were seen in the back seat, likely where the boy was sitting, and splattered on the ground outside.
The toddler has since been transported to Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital in stable condition. Officers said he suffered injuries that were non-life threatening.
“Thankfully the two-year-old toddler is in a non-life-threatening condition. Thankfully he’s going to make it through,” said Delgado.
Surveillance footage captured the moments after the shot went off.
A woman, who did not want to be identified, said she quickly called 911 after hearing a loud boom and yelling.
“Just to hear the mom and baby crying, like I can still hear their cries in my ear now,” she said.
She said the sound woke her up from bed and led her to see outside her apartment window.
“I saw the mom running up and down and screaming really loud so that made me prompt to call the police and I said, ‘Hey, I think something happened.'”
But she wasn’t alone as other neighbors who live in the apartment complex also told 7News they woke up to gunshots and screams.
“I heard the scream. She screamed when the shot went off,” said one neighbor.
“It’s disheartening,” said another neighbor. “The mom was screaming for like ten minutes before the police got here.”
The 911 caller said she quickly ran downstairs and comforted the distressed mother along with other neighbors.
“We were trying to comfort the mom, ask if she needs water, if she needed us to call someone, just to try and calm her down,” she said.
This isn’t the first time a similiar incident has taken place in South Florida.
In April, a 4-year-old shot himself in the foot in Fort Lauderdale.
Last year, at least four of these type of shootings took place, taking the lives of two children, and critically injuring one. Another child was also shot in the hand after finding a gun in the glove box of his uncle’s car.
Back in September 2023, a 3-year-old girl was shot in the hand. Surveillance video captured how quickly the incident happens.
Following all these incidents, including this latest one in Miami Gardens, police remind all parents about the importance of securing guns away from children.
“We urge anybody, parents or nonparents, if you have a firearm, properly secure your firearm. Get a firearm with a safety. You’re supposed to have it away from anyone’s reach,” said Delgado.
Neighbors in Miami Gardens shared the same sentiment.
“If you have a firearm, you have to ensure that it’s secured. Children are curious and they can do anything,” said Monique Wint.
“As an adult, we have to be a little more responsible. There shouldn’t be a way that this baby could’ve gotten a hold of that gun,” said the woman who called 911.
Whether the mother will be facing any charges is yet to be determined pending an investigation.
Investigators said Child Protective Services are involved in this case.
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