2-Year-Old Atlanta Toddler Shoots Himself In Head After Finding Loaded Gun At Home, Critical

A two-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the head after finding a loaded gun at his home in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Police officers responded to the home around 10 a.m. EST after receiving a report a child had shot himself. The officers found the toddler with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was rushed to a local hospital in a critical condition.

Officials determined the gunshot wound appeared to be accidentally self-inflicted.

"Preliminary investigation indicates the gunshot wound appeared to be accidentally self-inflicted," Atlanta police spokesman Officer Anthony Grant told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

As part of the investigation, multiple people at the home were detained for questioning. Following this, an arrest warrant was issued for one of them. Dontavious Wells, 31, was arrested Sunday and charged with several offenses including "reckless conduct, theft by receiving a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and cruelty to children."

His relation with the toddler was not known and information regarding how the victim got hold of the loaded gun was not released. Investigation into the case was ongoing.

In a similar incident in May, a six-year-old girl accidentally shot her younger sibling in the face at a home in Georgia. Police arrived at the home and found a four-year-old girl wounded. The child was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition.

Preliminary investigation revealed the shooting was accidental. The victim’s six-year-old sibling was playing with the loaded gun and unintentionally discharged it, injuring the child. Investigation revealed a man, identified as 28-year-old Leemarkese Deangelo Melson, had left the weapon within the reach of the children. He faced charges of second-degree cruelty to a child and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The same month, a 5-year-old accidentally fatally shot his elder brother with a loaded gun. The siblings were playing on a trampoline when the boy accidentally shot his 12-year-old boy brother with a gun. Officers arrived at the scene and found the boy with gunshot wounds to the chest. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.