12-year-old accidentally shoots himself in leg while playing with a gun in park near Port Royal
A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg while playing with a gun he had taken to a park near Port Royal.
The minor, who was not named, was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to the Midtown Apartments around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. When they got there, Port Royal Police Department officers told them the shooting had taken place about an hour earlier at Shell Point Park in unincorporated Beaufort County.
The 12-year-old initially told police he had been shot by people in masks at the park, but the stories that witnesses told police did not add up. The boy later admitted to taking his aunt’s gun without her permission. Police found the gun hidden near a park trail.
The gun was not locked in a safe or box inside the residence but was hidden, Maj. Bob Bromage, a spokesperson at the sheriff’s office said.
No charges have been filed, and the incident is under investigation.
In December, a 3-year-old boy was killed at his home in Port Royal after he found a gun and accidentally shot himself.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 8:47 AM.
