Three People Injured in Unintentional Shootings, Including a 2-year-old Girl

A 2-year-old girl was shot and taken to the hospital in critical condition after a firearm unintentionally discharged in an apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee. All individuals involved were questioned by police, and two juvenile boys, ages 12 and 14, have been charged with felony reckless endangerment and juvenile possession of a firearm. The investigation is ongoing with additional charges expected.

In Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, three people were in a vehicle when a 37 year-old woman sitting in the front passenger seat was unintentionally shot by the man sitting behind her. She was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition. Omar E. Pettiford, 35, was trying to put on the gun’s safety when the gun discharged. The three of them had been to several bars and the driver, a 41-year-old female friend of the victim, said that at the last one Pettiford fired off a round from a black handgun to scare off someone hassling her. They then all drove away, and the victim was shot a few minutes later. Pettiford has been charged with aggravated assault, possessing instruments of crime and related offenses.

And a man shot himself in the leg while going through a car wash in Boardman, Ohio. He told police he wanted to be sure there was a round in the chamber of his 9 mm handgun, so he “racked a round,” removed the magazine, and while checking to see if a round was in the chamber, the gun fired. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Sources:

Hyperlinks above are to source material.