Three-year-old boy found gun on father’s bed, police say

A 3-year-old boy who shot himself in the abdomen Monday night apparently found the gun on his father’s bed, Kansas City police said Tuesday.

The father told police he was returning from a store with his son and his 10-year-old daughter when he felt his gun fall down his leg on the inside of his pants as he walked into their house in the 3300 block of Moulton Avenue. He said he scurried into the house quickly so the gun wouldn’t fall out of his pants. He got the loaded gun and put it on his bed, he said. He told police he was “positive” the safety had been activated, according to a police report, which noted the gun had one round in the chamber “readily capable of lethal force.”

The children were in the living room and kitchen area, so he went out the back door to let their dog outdoors. While outside, he said, he heard a bang. He went back inside and saw his son walking toward him clutching his abdomen, which was bleeding. The boy then collapsed on the floor.

The father said he picked up his son and the handgun and drove to a hospital.

Officers found the father’s car abandoned at the emergency room entrance and saw the handgun on the front passenger seat. Since the windows were rolled down and someone could reach into the car and get the gun, an officer waited by the car until crime scene investigators arrived to confiscate it.

A nurse told police that the boy’s surgery “went well” and that he was in stable condition, according to the police report.

Detectives said they were still investigating, but they think the boy accidentally shot himself. They planned to interview more witnesses before turning the case over to prosecutors for review.

This story was originally published October 15, 2013 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Three-year-old boy found gun on father’s bed, police say."