“One of the worst calls imaginable”: Sister contacts 911 as three-year-old Florida boy shoots himself with handgun

A tragic incident recently struck in Florida when a three-year-old boy shot himself to death. The boy allegedly found the handgun on his parents’ nightstand, while they were out buying groceries.

The young boy was with his siblings during the incident, which took place at the Florida residence in DeLand. Based on the reports, the authorities said that the 16-year-old sister, who was watching over the deceased kid, made the 911 call, reporting the tragic incident.

According to Mike Chitwood, the Volusia County Sheriff, the handgun was discharged only once, and the kid reportedly shot himself in the face. Authorities have described the incident to be “one of the worst calls imaginable.”

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A three-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death at his Florida residence while his parents were out

The tragic shooting in Florida that killed the 3-year-old was confirmed by Chitwood in a press conference that was held on Thursday, February 16, 2023. The sheriff described the incident to be “heartbreaking.”

Authorities confirmed that a 16-year-old girl was looking after her siblings, a three-year-old and a seven-year-old. The parents were reportedly away from home as they were out doing grocery shopping. In the 911 call, the distraught older sister was heard saying:

“My little brother shot himself! There is blood everywhere!”

During the press conference, Mike Chitwood reported:

“What we’re assuming is the parents go to Publix and leave the 16-year-old in charge, have probably done it a million and one times. For some reason, and I don’t know that we’ll ever know that reason, the three-year-old wandered into the bedroom and got into the end table. He picked the gun out and turned it toward himself and shot himself point-blank range.”

The cops discovered that the boy probably reached out to his father’s nightstand and got hold of the handgun. However, they are not sure as to how he did it. The Volusia County Sheriff further added that the parents would usually keep the gun in a non-functioning state inside a safe. Chitwood also mentioned that the young boy’s father is a state corrections officer and that the guns were not department-issued.

Apart from that, the sheriff pleaded to the parents to lock up their guns in case they have kids or teenagers at their home:

“If you have little ones, even if you have teenagers, you gotta lock them up.”

He added that when responding officers arrived at the Florida residence, they administered CPR on the child, who was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. However, the authorities pronounced him dead at around 7.03 pm on Wednesday, February 15.

The Volusia County Sheriff mentioned that the family “shouldn’t feel the way they feel.” He continued:

“This should have never happened. It’s heartbreaking to listen to that 911 call and you’re the sister who is calling in. We were all 16 once, did you watch your younger siblings while your parents ran to the store? Yeah! Who would’ve ever in a million years thought that that would happen?”

The weapon that the child used is a Canik 9MM firearm. Authorities have decided not to reveal the names of the deceased Florida child and his siblings. Police are currently investigating the case. No arrests have been made as of now, and authorities mentioned that they wouldn’t arrest anybody prior to seven days after the shooting.