In a new case that highlights the importance of keeping away potentially lethal objects from youngsters, a three-year-old child wounded his father and pregnant mother inside a motel room in New Mexico after the toddler found a handgun in his mother's purse.
Investigators said that the young boy appears to be reaching for an iPod in his mother's purse but instead found the weapon that was incidentally loaded and fired one shot at the America's Best Value Inn.
The bullet first hit the father, Justin Reynolds, in the buttocks but it went out of the man's hip, hitting the right shoulder of the young child's mother, Monique Villescas, who is eight months pregnant.
The toddler's two-year-old sister was also within the vicinity at the time of the incident but was not hurt. Fortunately, the injuries were not life-threatening. Both parents were sent to the hospital and are now recovering from their wounds.
Reynolds said that he and Villescas were getting reading to order pizza when the incident happened and that it occurred very fast.
"All of a sudden we heard a gun go off and the next minute I realized my girlfriend was bleeding. Then, I sat down and realized I was shot, too," Reynolds said.
Reynolds said that he contacted 911 and got some towel in order to stop Villescas' bleeding. Despite what happened, Reynolds said that he is still thankful that the bullet did not hit the toddler's sister who was sitting next to his girlfriend.
He also said that he was worried when the incident happened. For one, he was concerned about his girlfriend and he did not know whether or not his son had shot himself. The child, though, was shocked and cried.
Reynolds has already been released from the hospital while Villescas is in stable condition. Both children have been taken into the care of the Children's Youth and Families department. The district attorney's office would decide if Villescas and Reynolds would face negligence charges.
This is not the first time that a serious incident has occurred after a toddler managed to get hold of a potentially lethal weapon.
In December, a woman in Idaho died after her two-year-old son accidentally fired a gun at her. The toddler found the gun when reaching into his mother's handbag in a Wal-Mart store.
