2-Year-Old Fatally Finds a Gun in Mom's Purse

A 2-year-old boy is dead after climbing onto a kitchen counter, pulling a handgun from his mom's purse, and shooting himself while she "had momentarily stepped away." Police say they arrived at the Indianapolis home around 9pm Wednesday and found the boy with a single gunshot wound. The Indianapolis Star reports he was shot in the shoulder, while Fox59 reports he was shot in the chest.

Firefighters called to the scene worked to revive the unresponsive boy, but to no avail, per WISH. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. "The grieving mother is cooperating with detectives … and after detectives questioned her she was later released," the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says, noting the woman had a gun permit for the .380 Bersa semi-automatic pistol. (More gun deaths stories.)