NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A 3-year-old is dead after what police say was an accidental, self-inflicted shooting in the 4200 block of Newsome Drive Tuesday night.
“I had no words. It was unexplainable," said Brooklyn Foster, who lives in the townhome complex where the shooting happened.
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Foster calls the shooting death of a three-year-old sad and reckless.
“Gun violence is unacceptable around here. We have to do better as a community," Foster said.
Newport News Police said they responded around 8:15 p.m. and found the 3-year-old boy inside a home suffering from a gunshot wound.
Officers said he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In the 911 call for the shooting, you can hear numerous first responder units being dispatched.
“I couldn’t imagine being the parent of that child," said Barbara Cofield.
Early Wednesday morning, News 3’s Kelsey Jones talked with Cofield at the townhome complex. Cofield didn’t know what had happened until Kelsey told her.
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"Oh yeah. That’s a big problem," Cofield responded when asked if she thinks kids getting hold of guns is a problem.
Police had not said Wednesday afternoon how the child got hold of the gun.
Tuesday’s tragedy is not the first time this year News 3 has reported on a child shooting themselves after getting hold of a gun.
In May, in an exclusive interview News 3 talked with the father of a one-year-old who survived after accidentally shooting herself.
Watch: EXCLUSIVE: Father of 1-year-old shot in Hampton gives update on her condition
In August, News 3 reported a man was found guilty of felony child abuse after his grandson accidentally shot himself. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2.
In Virginia, recklessly allowing someone under 14 to get hold of a loaded, unsecured gun is a class one misdemeanor and punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Watch: Virginia Beach man whose grandson accidentally shot himself found guilty of felony child abuse
Back at the scene in Newport News, Deconte Jackson tells News 3 he thinks more needs to be done to educate gun owners.
“Once you get a firearm, when you go up there and fill everything out, you should put ‘have kids’ and then they should have an additional educational part to avoid situations like this," Jackson explained.
News 3 reached out to police for an interview Wednesday to try to get more information.
Chief Steve Drew was not available for an interview, but in a statement says he is concerned about the three-year-old’s family and the officers who responded to the scene.
We understand that the incident that occurred last evening has caused significant concern. I too am concerned about the family and the officers who responded to the scene. I want to emphasize that the investigation is currently ongoing and detectives are consulting with the Commonwealth’s Attorney. We appreciate your patience as we move forward with the investigation.
