ST. LOUIS (AP) - A mother and her young son were shot when the preschooler found a gun in their St. Louis home and fired the weapon, a one-time candidate for St. Louis alderman said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the shooting happened Tuesday. Anthony Bell, a committeeman for the St. Louis Democratic Central Committee and 2017 alderman candidate, said the woman, who is in her 20s, was shot in the buttocks and the child, who is about 4-year-old, was shot in a leg.
Both were taken to a hospital for treatment, Bell said. Police did not release any details of the shooting, including the names of the mother and son or their medical conditions. Bell told reporters of the shooting after conferring with police on the scene.
The shooting occurred across the street from a home where a 3-year-old was shot and killed on May 14. Authorities have released few details about the May shooting, including whether the child found a gun in the home and accidentally shot himself or if someone else fired the weapon.
St. Louis has seen a string of gun violence incidents involving children. More than a dozen children ages 16 or younger were shot to death in the city in 2019.
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