Toddler From North Carolina Dies After Being Accidentally Shot With BB Or Pellet Gun

An eight-year-old boy from North Carolina died of a BB or pellet gunshot to the chest when he was playing with another child on Sunday. The incident reportedly happened at a home in the Stony Point community that was located roughly 55 miles north of Charlotte on Dec. 20.

"Upon arrival officers discovered that an 8-year-old child was struck in the chest with a single shot from a BB or pellet gun," according to the official release from the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office.

The identities of the two children were not released. However, WBTV revealed that the eight-year-old child was a boy.

The Alexander County Sheriff’s Office and Alexander County EMS arrived at the scene and found the boy was struck in the chest with a single shot from a BB or pellet gun. The boy was immediately brought to the Iredell Memorial Hospital and evaluated.

When the boy was being transferred to the Brenner’s Children’s hospital in Winston Salem, he went into cardiac arrest. This forced the transport to diver to the Davey Medical Center where he died of the injury.

Based on initial findings, the whole shooting was deemed accidental. The two children were playing and were shooting a BB gun and a pellet rifle at targets near the family home.

"The accidental shooting occurred when two juveniles age 8 and age 7 were shooting a BB gun and a pellet rifle at targets near the family home," the release stated. "The investigation is continuing."

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 47% of the injured children were ages 6-12, the academy added. BB guns accounted for 80.8% of the injuries, followed by pellet guns at just over 15%.

The academy estimates that roughly 13,486 children each year are treated in an emergency department for injuries from non-powder firearms. This includes BB, pellet, paintball and airsoft guns.

BB guns fire small round metal balls while pellet guns fire small pellets that are made of lead. They may vary in shape. However, they remain lethal considering they use compressed air or other gases, springs or electricity to fire.