2 Charged With Neglect After 4-Year-Old Indiana Boy Injured In Accidental Shooting

Two people in Indiana were charged after a 4-year-old child got injured in an accidental shooting Tuesday.

South Bend Police responded to a shooting report around 9.40 a.m. at a residence in Queen Street, and found the child with a non-life-threatening firearm injury on his lower leg. The child was rushed to a local hospital for treatment.

"It is concerning. Any time somebody is shot or at least thought to be shot is horrific in and of itself, but when you throw in a 4-year-old, that just makes it that much worse. Ridiculous and senseless," South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski said, WNDU reported.

Officers at the scene also found a "severely emancipated and neglected" dog, according to WSBT. The dog was released into the care of South Bend Animal Rescue and Care for treatment.

The Shooting Response Team of South Bend police investigated the scene and determined the 4-year-old obtained the firearm and accidentally fired it.

During the time of the shooting, two adults, Terry Nailon and Rickey Williams, were present in the house along with another child.

The police later arrested Nailon and Williams, and charged them with neglect of a dependent and neglect of a vertebrae animal.

The police said they have been keeping an eye on the area and are asking for the community's help to stop gun violence in the city. They were also investigating the incident.

"We need to know exactly what happened so we can prevent anything further like this from happening. Not just with this child but with other children and everybody in our community. This is senseless. There's no, regardless of what the facts reveal, I don’t know how anyone can justify a four-year-old being shot. I just can't," Ruszkowski said, WNDU reported.

"How do we touch 103 thousand people? If another child getting shot doesn't do it, I don’t know what will. But it’s time for people to say this is enough and literally mean it this time and not just talk it," he added.