No charges after toddler shot in head on Christmas morning, GBI says
By Christopher Harris
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ATLANTA (WUPA) — The shooting of a 2-year-old boy on Christmas morning in Walker County has been ruled accidental by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and no charges will be filed.
The child was shot in the head at a home on Tarvin Road in Rock Spring and survived emergency surgery.
Deputies with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office were called to the home around 9:50 a.m. on Christmas Day after receiving a report of a child with a gunshot wound, Sheriff Steve Wilson said. Deputies and EMS rushed the toddler to T.C. Thompson Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he underwent surgery.
Investigators said the child’s father had returned home late Christmas Eve and placed his 9 mm handgun on a nightstand next to the bed. On Christmas morning, after the children were out of bed, the father was in another room dressing an infant when he heard a loud “pop” coming from the bedroom.
When he went to check, authorities said the father found the 2-year-old crying and bleeding from a head wound.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted the Walker County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.
The infant who was also inside the home has since been placed with relatives. Authorities said no names will be released.
The Walker County Department of Family and Children’s Services assisted in the investigation.
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