8-year-old dies after being shot in the chest with a BB gun, North Carolina police say
An 8-year-old child died Sunday after being accidentally “shot by a BB gun” while playing with another child, according to the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.
The child’s identity has not been released.
It happened Sunday in the Stony Point community, about 55 miles southwest of Winston-Salem, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The child was identified as a boy by the Observer’s news partner WBTV.
“Upon arrival officers discovered that an 8-year-old child was struck in the chest with a single shot from a BB or pellet gun,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The child was was evaluated at Iredell (Memorial Hospital) and was transferred to Brenner’s Children’s hospital in Winston Salem. During transport the child went into cardiac arrest and was diverted to Davie Medical Center. The child died from his injuries at Davie medical center,” the release said.
Investigators say their initial findings “the accidental shooting occurred when two juveniles age 8 and age 7 were shooting a BB gun and a pellet rifle at targets near the family home,” a release said. “The investigation is continuing.”
The father of one of the two children was supervising, but left “for a moment to check on another child,” according to the Observer’s news partner WBTV. “The 7-year-old was lining up a target in the rifle’s scope and pulled the trigger just as the 8-year-old ran past the front of the barrel,” the station reported.
A BB gun “uses compressed air or other gases, springs, or electricity to fire ... ball bearings (BB’s), which are small, round metal balls,” according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Pellet guns similarly “fire small pellets, usually made of lead, which vary in shape,” the hospital reports.
The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates “13,486 children each year are treated in an emergency department for injuries from a nonpowder firearm, including BB, pellet, paintball and airsoft guns.” Nearly half the injured children (47%) were ages 6-12, the academy reported.
“At close range, projectiles from many BB and pellet guns, especially those with velocities greater than 350 fps, can cause tissue damage similar to that inflicted by powder-charged bullets (from) conventional firearms,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 2:59 PM with the headline "8-year-old dies after being shot in the chest with a BB gun, North Carolina police say."