James Kenneth Lindquester: 3 year Oregon boy accidentally shoots self dead after coming across gun in end table drawer at family’s Aloha home.
And it continues. A 3-year-old boy has died after he found a handgun at his Oregon home and accidentally shot himself, according to reports.
James Kenneth Lindquester uncovered the weapon in a bedroom end table drawer and shot himself in the head around 10 p.m. Friday at his home in Aloha, KOMO reports.
The boy was brought to the hospital, where he died of his injuries just before midnight, the media outlet reported.
The boy’s father, the father’s girlfriend, and another child were home at the time, according to WCSO. Deputies said the boy was alone in a room when the gun went off.
No charges have been filed, but authorities are investigating the incident.
Update: 3-year-old boy died at hospital following shooting https://t.co/qnQPuluRwn pic.twitter.com/h4XFjHqOE0
— Washington County Sheriff’s Office (@WCSOOregon) October 10, 2020
‘…seeing a child in that situation is the worst’
Washington County Deputy Shannon Wilde said the call was among the toughest that authorities have to respond to.
‘I think if you ask any first responder, the death of a child is the absolute worst call that we go to,’ she told KOMO.
‘It’s tough, a lot of us are parents ourselves. I know some of the responders on scene last night have children, some have children the same age as this little boy and it’s tough. We see a lot of horrible things but seeing a child in that situation is the worst.’
The incident has since led to commentators on social media questioning why the weapon wasn’t locked or stored in a place where a child could not access it. While others called for the gun owner to be prosecuted.
An autopsy will be conducted at the Oregon Medical Examiner’s office, the sheriff’s office said.
