FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother Thursday with a gun that his father left under the seat of their SUV, police said.
Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman Casey Liening said the boy and his 1-year-old sister were sitting in their Toyota RAV4 with their mother in the parking lot of a Walmart on West Broward Boulevard while their father was inside the store.
At some point, the boy got out of his car seat and grabbed the handgun that his father had placed under a seat, Liening said. That's when the gun accidentally discharged, she said.
"Me and another employee immediately came out and saw a woman next to the car," a man who works nearby told Local 10 News.
An evidence marker was placed next to the bullet casing on the ground in the parking lot.
Police could be seen speaking to a man and two children.
The mother was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center, where she was in stable condition.
Liening said the father legally owned the gun and had a concealed weapons permit.
Police are still investigating, but no charges have been filed at this time.