A 6-year-old Greenwood boy allegedly shot by a playmate Monday is in critical condition in a Jackson hospital following emergency surgery.
Although there has not been an official release by the University of Mississippi Medical Center, family members have said that the child had surgery Monday night and “seems to be holding his own,” said Greenwood Police Chief Ray Moore. The child was moved this morning to a pediatric intensive care unit.
Moore declined to release the child’s name.
Greenwood police received a call from the child’s aunt Monday at 3:12 p.m. that someone had been shot inside a home in the 400 block of Kinney Street. When officers arrived on the scene, medical help had already arrived, said Moore. “We discovered a child had been shot in the abdomen area,” Moore said.
There were three children inside the home during the time of the shooting, the chief said.
One of the children, a 5-year-old boy, went to get his shoes and socks out from under a couch when he found a loaded .40-caliber handgun. The child was playing with the gun when it discharged and shot the 6-year-old. The age of the third child is unknown.
An adult man was at the residence watching the children but was in the other room when the shooting occurred, Moore said. He said he did not know if the man and the injured child are related, but they do share the same last name.
The relationship between the three children is also unknown, Moore said.
The boy was airlifted to the Jackson medical center from the Mississippi State Highway Patrol Station in Greenwood.
Police are still investigating the incident, including trying to determine to whom the gun belonged, Moore said.
• Contact Lauren Randall at 581-7239 or lrandall@gwcommonwealth.com.
