3-Year-Old Shoots Grandmother With .22-Caliber Rifle

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) – A 3-year-old boy shot his grandmother through both arms with a .22-caliber rifle, the Orange County Sheriff’s office said.

The 66-year-old grandmother said she was babysitting her grandson when he got the rifle and accidentally fired it. The bullet went through the woman’s right forearm and pierced and exited her left forearm, Sheriff’s Capt. David Reeves said.

The shooting happened Monday at the woman’s home near Orange, about 30 miles east of Beaumont near the Louisiana border. The grandmother likely will have surgery.

Deputies will monitor her recovery before taking an official statement and referring the case to the district attorney, Reeves said. Leaving a firearm accessible to a child and causing serious bodily injury is a Class A misdemeanor, according to the Texas Penal Code.

The toddler remains in his father’s custody, Reeves said.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-07-20-07 1351EDT