HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Deputies are investigating after they said a 5-year-old boy shot his 6-year-old brother in northeast Harris County.
The shooting happened at around 10:30 a.m. Monday in the 16800 block of Faring Road. Deputies said the 6-year-old was shot with a 9 mm pistol once in the abdomen.
The victim's uncle, Thomas Gray, spoke with KPRC 2 News about the shooting.
"I have no idea how he got it, where it was at. We have a safe in here, so I have no idea if it was in the safe or if we were walking around with it, set it down somewhere. No idea," said Gray.
The child was transported via ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital and is undergoing surgery. We're told the victim is in critical condition, but we're told he was alert and breathing at the time he was transported.
The mother, who was home at the time with all four of her children, heard the shot and called 911.
Investigators are looking into how the children got access to the unsecured weapon, but they said no charges have been filed at this time.
Deputies have secured additional weapons at the house for precaution.
Neighbors who live nearby worry about weapons in the home and children getting access to them.
"I think parents need to be more cautious and take care of what they need to take care of instead of leaving that dangerous stuff out for kids to get ahold of. They need to take more precautions and put that stuff away in a safe place," said Don'Ja Helms.
It's the third such shooting case involving a child in the last four days. On Friday, a 3-year-old was killed after he accidentally shot himself at a residence in the 7400 block of Betanna Drive.
Then on Saturday night, a 4-year-old was killed after finding a loaded handgun and shooting himself in the 19800 block of Imperial Stone Drive.
Both cases are under investigation.