HOUSTON -- A 3-year-old boy was hospitalized after he shot himself in the face, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Houston police said Marcario Garibay found a gun at his home at an apartment complex on Bissonnet Street near Bonhomme Road at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

The gun discharged and struck Macario in the mouth. He was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital in critical condition. He was upgraded to good condition on Monday.

Mother Stephanie Garibay said Macario found the gun near her bed, where it was hidden by her 19-year-old boyfriend.

Garibay said Macario had played with a toy gun earlier in the day.

"He had it today and he was playing with it," she said. "I thought he thought it was a play toy. He shot himself in the mouth. He had a silver cap from the dentist. It blocked it from going anywhere, so the bullet stopped at the cap."

The boyfriend was taken into custody. Police said he told them that he hid the gun because he knew Garibay did not want it in her home.

Officials said the boyfriend would be charged with drug possession and making a gun accessible to a child causing serious bodily injury.

Garibay lived in the apartment with her sister and their seven children. The apartment manager said she evicted the family about a month ago because she said there was suspicious foot traffic going in and out of the unit.

The apartment manager said she had seen Child Protective Services workers at the apartment twice before the shooting.

The other six children remained with their mothers.