2-year-old girl shot by 3-year-old brother after gun found in couch, deputies say
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Authorities in Florida have arrested two men after a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot his 2-year-old sister with a gun he found in a couch late Friday, according to WFTV and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the girl was shot once in the upper-left part of her chest. She was later injured in a car crash that occurred as she was being rushed to the hospital, authorities said. She was last listed in critical but stable condition, WFTV reported.
“It can’t be stressed enough, if you have firearms in your home, keep them away from children,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news release. “A beautiful little girl is fighting for her life right now because another child who didn’t know any better was able to get his hands on a loaded gun.”
Officials said three men were at a home in Polk County watching basketball when they heard a pop just before midnight on Friday.
“They immediately looked to see that the 2-year-old female had been shot and was on the couch, and the 3-year-old scramble from the living room, running and crying to his bedroom,” Judd said Saturday at a news conference.
The men rushed to grab the children and raced toward a hospital, Judd said. On the way, another vehicle turned into their path and T-boned the vehicle they were in, causing “significant injuries,” according to the sheriff.
A good Samaritan stopped and drove the 2-year-old girl and one of the injured men to the hospital, Judd said. The girl was taken into surgery and has since been transferred to an intensive services hospital in Central Florida, according to authorities.
Judd said the shooting happened after the girl’s brother found the gun stuck between the cushions of a couch. The gun’s owner, Kevonte Wilson, told deputies he had put the gun there to keep it away from the children.
“Kevonte should have left his gun in his car, or if he had (to have) taken it to the house, he should have carried it appropriately and then appropriately secured it away from children,” Judd said. “I don’t know how you think you safely keep a gun away from children when you stick it in the couch that the children are playing on.”
Authorities arrested Wilson on charges of failure to safely store a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Chad Berrien, the owner of the home where the shooting took place, was also arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a house for drug use.
The third man who was at the house at the time of the shooting was not charged, Judd said.
Authorities continue to investigate.
