On Oct. 3 at 5:50 p.m., officers responded to the 10800 block of Hopewell Place in La Plata for the report of an accidental shooting involving a child. When officers arrived, they spoke with the child’s grandmother who said she was outside watching her grandson play. He got into a car which was parked in the driveway and suddenly she heard a gunshot. The child ran to her and she noticed he had an injury to his head. Emergency personnel arrived and the child was flown to a hospital where it was learned he had a graze wound; his injury is not life-threatening. Detectives assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division responded and recovered the gun inside the car. A computer check revealed the gun – a 9mm semi-automatic handgun – is registered to a member of the child’s family. At this point, it is not clear why the gun was in the car and the investigation is continuing. For clarification, the owner of the gun is not a law enforcement officer.

Media Contact
Diane Richardson
301-609-6557
richardsond@ccso.us