A 2-year-old boy was accidentally shot by a person in his Central Valley home over the weekend, authorities said.
The toddler was hit in the leg by a bullet as an adult was cleaning their gun in the Tulare County residence, the county Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m. Sunday, sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in Pixley, a town of fewer than 4,000 residents between Tulare and Delano along California 99.
The child “had been accidentally shot in the leg while someone inside the house was cleaning a gun,” the statement said.
Deputies sought to deliver emergency aid until a medical team arrived and took him to a hospital. The boy’s condition was unclear.
Between 2003 and 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 1,262 unintentional firearm deaths of children; 28% of victims were under 5 years old, and 7% of victims were killed by a firearm as it was loaded, unloaded or cleaned.
Those with information can contact the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 733-6218.
