Stray Bullet Strikes 6-Year-Old Boy On North Carolina School Grounds, Investigation Underway

A six-year-old boy was recovering after a stray bullet struck him in the jaw on school grounds.

Deputies with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) arrived at Lincoln Elementary School in Leland, North Carolina, on Friday after receiving information that a student was struck by a bullet on the school property. The boy was rushed to a local hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, investigation revealed the bullet was fired from a “great distance.”

"On Friday, November 13, BCSO was called to Lincoln Elementary School in Leland to take a report in reference to a juvenile being injured on school grounds. It was later determined that the juvenile sustained an injury from a bullet projectile, likely fired from a great distance, ultimately striking the child in the jaw," BCSO Spokeswoman Emily Flax told NBC-affiliated television station WECT, adding that the incident didn’t seem "malicious."

"With the full cooperation of Brunswick County Schools, BCSO detectives immediately began to investigate the incident. Detectives do not believe there to be any malicious intent. All indications lead to it was an accidental incident, likely stemming from someone in the area shooting on private property," Flax told the channel.

Investigation into the incident was ongoing and the child was recovering.

"Detectives continue to investigate with the assistance of NC Wildlife to try and determine where the gunfire originated. BCSO is working closely with Brunswick County schools in an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of all Brunswick County students," Flax said.

The incident comes less than a month after a woman was injured when a stray bullet struck her in the knee while she was holding her three-week-old baby at her Rhode Island home.

The woman was on her bed with her baby when the bullet struck her after entering through the bedroom wall. Her husband rushed her to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Luckily, the baby wasn’t injured in the incident.

Recalling the incident, Emedi Lotengya, the victim’s husband, told ABC 6, "We heard something like boom, like boom, we thought at first, we thought it was like the phone maybe burst, we were charging the phone. But after some seconds or minutes I saw my wife bleeding."