2-year-old finds gun and accidentally kills himself as mom slept, AL cops say
.jpg "A toddler died after accidentally shooting himself with an unsecured handgun he found at home, Alabama police said.")
A toddler died after accidentally shooting himself with an unsecured handgun he found at home, Alabama police said.
Officers responded to the shooting at about 2 a.m. May 25 at an apartment in Valley, where they found a 2-year-old boy with a gunshot wound, according to a May 27 news release by the police department.
He was airlifted to a hospital in Georgia, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Officers said the boy’s mom and another child were asleep in the apartment when the gun was fired.
The investigation is ongoing, according to police.
Valley is about a 30-mile drive northwest from Columbus, Georgia.
Gun violence in the US
Thousands of people die from firearm injuries in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Firearm injuries and deaths continue to be a significant public health problem in the United States,” the CDC said. “In 2022, there were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the United States according to mortality data. That’s about 132 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day.”
Firearm-related injuries were one of the top leading causes of death for people ages 1 to 44 in 2022, the CDC reported.
The impact of gun violence, however, goes beyond the death toll, experts said.
“The effects of firearm violence and injury extend beyond victims and their families,” officials said. “Shooting incidents, including those in homes, schools, houses of worship, or workplaces, shopping areas, on the street or at community events can affect the sense of safety and security of entire communities and impact everyday decisions.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 12:33 PM with the headline "2-year-old finds gun and accidentally kills himself as mom slept, AL cops say."
