2-year-old finds loaded gun, shoots Rock Hill grandmother in back

A woman was shot in her back while riding in a car Sunday after her 2-year-old grandson found a loaded gun in the car and fired at her, according to Rock Hill Police.

The shooting happened just after 1 p.m. as the car traveled through the intersection of Ogden Road and Heckle Boulevard in southern Rock Hill, police records show The 40-year-old victim told Rock Hill officers she heard the gun go off and realized she had been shot.

The boy “had the gun in both hands and began to cry,” the police report states.

Police initially said the boy was 4 years old, but later said he is 2 years old. The mistake happened due to “confusion at the scene” on Sunday, a spokesman said.

The child’s great aunt was driving the car during the incident, said Capt. Mark Bollinger, Rock Hill Police spokesman. Police say she owns the gun lawfully.

Before the shooting, the boy’s relatives had picked him up from another family member’s home, according to police. The gun, a .357 revolver, had reportedly been left in a pouch on the back of the car’s passenger seat.

“We’re still trying to figure out how the child pulled the trigger,” Bollinger said, adding that detectives have learned the boy was wearing a seat belt but was not in a car seat.

After the shooting, the boy’s great aunt drove the car to a family member’s home on nearby Stanley Drive, the police report states. The boy’s grandmother went to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte with non-life threatening injuries, Bollinger said.

A woman at the Stanley Drive home declined to speak with a Herald reporter on Monday.

Investigators will consult with the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office before deciding what charges, if any, are appropriate, officials said. The gun’s owner could face charges for improperly storing the weapon or leaving it in reach of a child, Bollinger said, adding the gun did not have a lock on it.

“We’re encouraging folks, as always, (to) keep your weapons secured,” he said. “Especially around small children.”

In recent years in York and Chester counties, deputies say incidents of children with access to weapons have ended in injuries and death.

In 2004, a 2-year-old was shot in the head and killed when another toddler found a gun on a kitchen table in a Rock Hill home.

In 2011, a 13-year-old was sentenced to 10 months in juvenile prison after shooting his younger cousin in the face, causing the victim to lose an eye.

Herald reporter Andrew Dys contributed.

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 6:23 PM with the headline "2-year-old finds loaded gun, shoots Rock Hill grandmother in back."