3-Year-Old Child Finds Gun, Shoots Five-Month-Old Baby Inside Florida Home

A 5-month-old baby was injured in a shooting that happened inside a Florida home on Saturday, Sep 3.

According to reports, a three-year-old child accidentally shot the infant in the hip after getting hold of a gun at a home in Tampa.

A 25-year-old woman, identified as Paula Marie Concepcion Santos, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, has been arrested and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm.

Her relationship to the kids is not yet known.

The infant was rushed to Tampa General Hospital and reports released on Sunday, indicated that the child's injuries were not live threatening.

"While we’re incredibly thankful this infant was not fatally injured, this should serve as a reminder to every parent or guardian to immediately go and check that their guns are properly secured," Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor said in a statement on Sunday.

"Children should not be able to access firearms, and moreover, guns should always be stored in a locked safe with the ammo stored separately. Don’t put the life of a child at risk by being careless."

Tampa Bay police are investigating the incident. No further details were released at the time of this writing.

A similar incident was reported last year when a toddler accidentally shot his father to death inside their home after getting his hands on the man’s loaded gun.

At around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 5, officers from the Savannah Police Department responded to a home in the 100 block of E. 64th Street, Savannah, Georgia after receiving reports of a shooting.

They found 25-year-old Dustin Walters at his home suffering from a gunshot wound and rushed him to the Memorial Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.

The father-of-one was shot 'accidentally' by a child under the age of two, according to the police.

The preliminary investigation determined that Walters was wounded when a toddler, who was just under 2 years of age, found and fired the handgun, striking Walters.