10-year-old Shoots Himself With Stepbrother’s Gun

While waiting alone in the backseat of a car outside an office building in Farmington, Connecticut, a 10-year-old boy shot himself in the leg with a gun he found in the pocket of a jacket left there by his 19-year-old stepbrother, Jordan Burns-Cruz, who had a doctor’s appointment in the building. The boy’s parent had stepped out of the car to smoke a cigarette and get something from the trunk when they heard the gunshot. 

The gun did not have a serial number; Burns-Cruz said he found it a few months ago. He said he knew that it was loaded, but that he never fired it. He also said that no other family members knew he had it. He described his stepbrother as “severely autistic and likes to touch everything.” Burns-Cruz was arrested on multiple charges including illegal possession of a firearm with no serial number, possession of a large capacity magazine, and risk of injury to a child.

Source:

Bailey Wright, “10-year-old Who Accidentally Shot Himself Had Found Brother’s Firearm in Jacket Pocket: Warrant,”wtnh.com (April 30, 2026).