A 2-year-old Rock Spring child remains in critical condition after being shot in the head on Christmas morning, an incident Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson says began with a handgun left on a bedroom nightstand the night before.
Sheriff Wilson provided new details about the shooting Friday, which occurred at a residence on Tarvin Road around 9:50 a.m. on Christmas Day.
According to the sheriff, the child’s father returned home late Christmas Eve from a gathering and placed his 9-millimeter handgun on a nightstand beside the bed before going to sleep.
On Christmas morning, the father was in another room dressing an infant when he heard what he described as a “pop” coming from the bedroom. When he rushed to investigate, he found the 2-year-old crying and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head.
Walker County Sheriff’s Office deputies and emergency medical crews responded to the scene and rushed the child to a hospital in Chattanooga, where the toddler was taken directly into surgery. Sheriff Wilson said the child survived the operation and is now resting in critical condition at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital.
Since the incident, the infant child the father was tending at the time has been placed with relatives, according to the sheriff.
Investigators have not yet determined exactly how the weapon discharged. However, Wilson said the incident is believed to be an accidental, self-inflicted shooting.
“He had been out late, was exhausted, laid the handgun on the nightstand, and simply forgot about it,” Wilson said.
As of Friday, no charges have been filed.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Walker County Department of Family and Children’s Services are assisting with the case. No names are being released at this time.