3-Year-Old Shoots Brother With Gun Belonging To CHP Officer
STOCKTON (CBS13) – California Highway Patrol investigators are looking into a shooting at one of their own officer's homes after a 15-year-old was shot.
The shooter – a three-year-old, the victim's brother.
Stockton police say the CHP officer is the children's stepfather, and that he was home when he heard his .22 caliber rifle go off inside the closet.
"I think it's very sad that the whole thing happened," a neighbor named Sandy said.
Neighbors say police and CHP cars descended on Hatchers Circle to investigate the shooting scene. They say the officer recently moved into the neighborhood.
"We just know that these are good people and this is a nice neighborhood," Sandy said.
Police say the officer's rifle got into his three-year-old stepson's hands during a game of hide and seek with his brother. The gun was loaded in the closet.
The toddler somehow managed to pull the trigger, shooting his brother's foot.
The boy was treated at this nearby urgent care and will be OK. But what upsets neighbor Alejandra Carvajal is the thought of a different outcome.
"It's hard to believe having kids in home and being able to have guns," Carvajal said. "They shouldn't have access."
It's unclear where in the closet the gun was stored and how it was stored.
"Guns are everywhere, and the whole point is if guess we need to be careful about that," Sandy said.
CHP officials say this is a confidential personnel matter and they expect to release a statement sometime this week.
Stockton police have handed the case over to the district attorney's office.
