ELKVIEW, W.Va. — A two-year-old is dead after accidentally shooting himself on Tuesday evening.
According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the child was alone in a bedroom in an Elkview area home when when they took hold of gun and pulled the trigger. The child suffered a fatal head wound.
“The pistol was unsecured in that bedroom and the child was alone when the incident occurred,” KCSD spokesman Sgt. Brian Humphreys said.
The child’s mother and four-year-old sibling were also at the residence.
Humphreys said the death is a tragic reminder to all gun owners to lock away their guns.
“Lock up the gun,” Humphreys said. “It’s not enough just to place it in a high place or to hide it somewhere where it’s not known about. It could be a child or someone else that you don’t want to have possession of that gun could come in possession of it.”
Humphreys said there are a number of inexpensive ways to secure weapons like safes and trigger locks.
“They prevent the gun from being in the hands of someone who is irresponsible, someone who shouldn’t have that gun, including children,” he said.
A three-year old boy accidentally shot and killed himself at a residence in Nitro last August.