3-Year-Old Shoots Both Parents With One Shot

A 3-year-old New Mexico boy going for an iPod in his mom's purse instead found a loaded handgun and managed to shoot both of his parents with one shot in the motel where the family was living, reports the Albuquerque Journal. The bullet hit the father in the right buttock, exited through his hip, and hit the mother—who is eight months pregnant—in the right arm. The father was treated and released, adds CNN, while the mother required a tourniquet and was hospitalized in stable condition. Police are recommending the pair be charged with felony criminal negligence.

"The child did the damage, but it was because of the negligence of the adults that the child was able to do this," says the cop who was first on the scene. "If you are going to be a gun owner, you need to lock it up and keep it safe, especially around children." A 2-year-old daughter was also in the room; she and the 3-year-old are currently in state custody. Animal control also took custody of the family's two pit bulls. "That’s scary, you need to keep your guns put up and you need to have locks on them," another guest at the America’s Best Value Inn tells KRQE. (More guns stories.)