Boy shot himself in the leg, police say

No charges for dad after 7-year-old found loaded gun in SUV

It’s an all-too-familiar story: A curious child finds a loaded gun, reaches for it and ends up shooting someone nearby — or themselves.

It happened again on Wednesday, when a 7-year-old boy found a loaded gun in the SUV where his father had left him alone and shot himself in the leg with it, Fort Lauderdale police said. He was the third child to find a loaded gun and fire it, hitting someone, in the past month.

Florida law says those who have concealed-carry permits can keep a gun in the car, as long as the weapon is “securely encased” or is otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use.

But that isn’t strictly enforced. The adults who’ve left guns out in the open — and so accessible that children have been able to pick them up and fire them off — haven’t been charged with crimes.

The 7-year-old shot himself just after 9 a.m. Wednesday in the

parking lot of the Twin Oak Plaza at 3260 W. Davie Blvd., according to police spokeswoman Casey Liening.

“The father went into the store and left the child inside of the vehicle,” she said. “He was only inside the store for a few minutes [and] when he returned to the vehicle he realized the son had been shot in the leg.”

No charges are pending in the case at this time, Liening said. That could change during the investigation.

The names of the father and son were not disclosed. The child was taken to Broward Health Medical Center with serious injuries, police said.

“At this point, the child is expected to be OK,” Liening said.

It’s not clear exactly where the gun was. Liening stressed the dangers of unsecured firearms in the presence of a child. The risk can be deadly, she said.

“Don’t leave loaded firearms lying around the house or in a vehicle with your children, and try to secure them whenever possible,” Liening said.

Last year, a 6-year-old boy died after he found a loaded gun and shot himself in the head inside a Miami Gardens home.

Last month, a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot his mom in the parking lot of a shopping plaza in downtown Fort Lauderdale, police said. And the boy did it with his dad’s handgun.

That was on Dec. 12. Police said the boy and his 1-year-old sister were in the car with his mother while his father was inside a nearby business. The father had placed his lawfully owned and carried handgun under the seat before getting out of the car, according to Liening.

The boy got out of his car seat and grabbed the gun, which accidentally discharged, striking the mom, Liening said.

The injured mother was taken to a hospital as a “trauma alert.” Liening said there were no updates available in the case on Wednesday, including the condition of the mother or whether anyone was charged.

Later that month on Dec. 29, the mother of a 7-year-old boy who was shot by another child was arrested for child neglect.

No information was available about the circumstances surrounding the gun, who owned it, and whether anyone was charged.

Two children had been playing with a loaded handgun inside a home in Pahokee in northwest Palm Beach County when one child shot the other. The wounded child was in the hospital in critical but stable condition.