Boy shoots, grazes finger with grandfather’s gun in Newton

A 2-year-old boy briefly left alone with his grandfather’s loaded handgun accidentally shot his finger Friday morning in Newton, police said.

Sgt. Bryan Hall said the boy had arrived with his grandparents at their home in the 900 block of Cherry Hills Drive moments before he pulled the trigger and discharged the Glock-model firearm around 10:30 a.m.

Hall said that after the boy’s grandparents escorted him into their home, the grandfather laid his gun on a chair in the living room and went back outside to the car to retrieve luggage. When the grandmother stepped out of the room to answer a phone call, the boy picked up the gun and fired it.

A single bullet grazed a finger on the boy’s left hand, then shot out the home’s front door and across the street, where it lodged in a neighbor’s house, Hall said.

“Grandpa said he just made it to the car out the front door when he heard the gunshot,” Hall said. “It was just a matter of seconds.”

No one but the boy was hurt, Hall said. The child was taken by private vehicle to Newton Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Hall called the shooting “an unfortunate incident” and an accident. The boy’s grandfather has a concealed-carry license, he said, and had taken the gun from the car into the house just before the shooting.

The model of Glock that discharged Friday had no external safety mechanism, Hall said. The grandparents, he added, had brought the toddler home to stay with them because the boy’s parents were caring for a newborn.

“The grandpa is just devastated. He feels terrible,” Hall said. “Any possible charges (in the case) would be the decision of the county attorney’s office.

“But no arrests have been made” as of Friday afternoon, Hall said.

Newton police seized the handgun and will be holding it until the county attorney reviews the case and decides whether to file charges, Hall said. He reminded residents that cable locks for firearms are available for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at Newton’s law enforcement center, 120 E. Seventh St.

This story was originally published August 15, 2014 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Boy shoots, grazes finger with grandfather’s gun in Newton."