NORTH PORT, Fla. — According to the North Port Police Department, around 3 p.m. on Thursday, the 6-year-old granddaughter was able to get ahold of the 57-year-old grandmother’s gun while in the car’s back seat.
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According to officers, the child was able to fire the gun through the driver’s seat, hitting the grandmother in the lower back while the two were traveling down Tollefson Ave. in North Port, Florida.
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The grandmother continued to drive home, where she could call 911. The woman was airlifted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
According to investigators, the grandmother told them the weapon was in the back pocket of the driver seat, beneath a seat cover and inside the holster.
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“This is an unfortunate example of the importance of gun safety. Please take appropriate measures to make sure children cannot access firearms. This could have been much worse, not only for the grandmother but for the child. Thankfully, it appears that everyone is going to be okay,” says North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison.
North Port police and the Child Protection Center in North Port are interviewing the child and continue to investigate. Police believe all available information leads to an accidental discharge.
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