22-Month-Old Baby Dies After Being Accidentally Shot In Face By Toddler

A 22-month-old baby died after being accidentally shot in the face by another child in Canton, Ohio.

Police Chief Jack Angelo said they received a 911 call from a Royal Avenue NE residence Monday regarding reports of the shooting. First responders found the child suffering from a gunshot wound, following which paramedics rushed the boy to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Medical Center for treatment, where he was declared dead. The child has been identified as Brandon Owens, News 5 Cleveland reported.

Authorities said a nearly 3-year-old child got hold of an unsecured fireman along with the victim. The gun was accidentally discharged, striking the victim in the face, according to the Canton police report.

“We remind everyone that unsecured firearms should not be kept where children have access to them,” the department said in a statement, the CantonRep reported. “This is a preventable tragedy. Gun locks are available free of charge at most law enforcement agencies. The Canton Police department will provide a gun lock free of charge to anyone, regardless of what jurisdiction you live in.”

No one has been charged in connection with the incident as the police continued to investigate on Tuesday. It wasn't clear if the children were related.

A neighbor, identified as Dawn Campbell, told Cleveland 19 she was outside her house putting up Halloween decorations when the incident took place.

“I heard a woman coming up the street crying, ‘get my baby, get my baby,’ and I didn’t know what to do, so I went over and grabbed her and tried to console her,” Campbell said.

Earlier this month, 3-year-old Texas boy died after accidentally shooting himself with a loaded gun found in his family home. The emergency crew found Troy Blue Dueñes with a gunshot wound to his chest at the scene. The police said the child had found an "unsecured and loaded firearm" in one of the bedrooms belonging to an adult family member. "An autopsy confirmed that the wound was consistent with being self-inflicted," the Elsa Police Department said in a statement on Facebook at the time.

There have been at least 284 unintentional shootings by children in 2021, of which 116 resulted in deaths and 183 injuries nationally, according to the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.