A woman is facing child endangerment charges after police say her toddler found a firearm in her purse and accidentally fired it in a southern Ohio Walmart last week.
The Waverly Police Department shared the news, noting that it received calls of shots fired shortly after 11 a.m. last Thursday.
Police shared that a 2-year-old boy took his mother’s 9mm pistol out of her person and was grabbing it when it went off.
The bullet went into the ceiling of the store, and the child only suffered a minor injury to his forehead “due to contact with the magazine,” police shared.
The woman was taken into custody and charged with endangering children.
The boy was released to the care of a guardian and taken to an urgent care to be treated for the minor injury, police said.
Waverly police say the incident underscores “the need for heightened awareness and safety measures” when it comes to owning guns. The department went on to say that it “emphasizes the importance of responsible firearm ownership and storage, especially those with children.”
The incident happened a day before a 3-year-old boy fatally shot his 2-year-old brother by accident in Indiana after finding a gun inside his mother’s purse. Officers with the Gary Police Department shared that the 3-year-old had found the firearm in her purse after she left it and her two sons in a bedroom alone.