The boy and his parents were injured and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
A 2-year-old boy picked up a loaded semi-automatic handgun that was sitting on his parents' nightstand and fired a single round, shooting his parents and injuring himself, officials said.
The mother, 22, suffered a leg wound, and the father, 25, was shot in the head, Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said, WMTW ABC8 News reported.
The little boy was also injured when he was struck in the face by the gun’s kickback. All three family members were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Merry said.
The incident happened on Wednesday just around 8 a.m on New Meadows Road in West Bath, Maine. The boy’s parents were sleeping at the time. A 3-week-old infant was also in the bedroom at the time of the shooting, but he was not injured, officials said.
"The question of how the boy was able to pick up and fire the weapon is of great concern and is being investigated,” Merry said, the New York Post reported
It is a reminder for parents to take good care of their guns, Merry told WMTW.
"As bad as this was it could have ended much worse,” Merry said.
He continued, "You are never too young to be able to pick up a handgun and have an accidental discharge," Merry said. "So you need to take care of firearms. They need to be kept in a secure location or they need to be protected with a trigger lock."
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office and the Sagadahoc County District Attorney’s Office are investigating, VMTW reported.
A Sagadahoc County Sheriff's spokesperson told Inside Edition Digital that the baby will not be charged; however, charges could be pending against the parents. He said the case is still under investigation.
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