Eight-year-old Shoots Himself After Finding a Loaded Gun on Top of Refrigerator

While at home with his mother and sibling, an 8-year-old boy in Harriman, Tennessee, found his father’s loaded 9mm handgun and unintentionally shot himself. The gun was either placed, or kept in a holster on top of the refrigerator, and according to his mother, the child used a chair to climb onto the countertops and managed to reach the gun. He sustained a fractured shoulder and is recovering after being released from the hospital.

This is the second day in a row that a young child was reported to have retrieved a loaded gun from the top of the family refrigerator.

Source:

Hope McAlee, “DA: 8-year-old Boy Recovering After Accidental Shooting in Morgan County,” wate.com (September 10, 2023).