2-year-old finds gun dropped on day care playground and shoots herself, Nevada cops say

A 2-year-old girl continues to fight for her life in a Las Vegas hospital after accidentally shooting herself with a gun found on a day care playground, Nevada police told news outlets.

A teenage boy fleeing a shooting on a bus dropped the gun after hopping a wall into the playground Friday, Nov. 3, police told KTNV. The teen shot an 18-year-old man during an altercation, police said.

The 18-year-old was hospitalized in stable condition, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

A toddler found the dropped gun a short time later and accidentally shot herself in the chest, police told NBC News.

“I mean, nobody expects their 2-year-old to be shot,” family friend Tawnya Rosenthal told KVVU.

The child is now in a medically-induced coma and is expected to be in the hospital for at least two months, Rosenthal told KLAS.

“No child should have to have that, that is a big battle for such a little baby,” she told the station.

The teen accused of shooting the bus passenger and dropping the gun was later found and arrested, police told KTNV.

This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 11:18 AM with the headline "2-year-old finds gun dropped on day care playground and shoots herself, Nevada cops say."