Sheriff: 7-year-old suffers gunshot wound after finding parent’s gun

A 7-year-old Buchanan County, Virginia child discovered a parent’s gun inside their parked vehicle and was injured, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The preliminary report said the parent had left the victim and two other children in the vehicle while they went inside a Dollar General in Oakwood. That’s when the juvenile retrieved the gun and it was discharged—resulting in a gunshot wound to the child’s leg.

Deputies arrived and administered first aid to stop the bleeding, the report said, then later, the juvenile was flown to a Northeast Tennessee hospital for treatment.

The office report said charges are anticipated as the active investigation continues.