An Albuquerque toddler shoots parents in a New Mexico hotel room Saturday, and now the incident has made headlines. According to reports, the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents after searching his mother's purse for an iPod and found a loaded gun. The three-year-old boy fired just one shot but he wounded both his parents.
According to WREG Memphis, the father was shot in the buttock, while the mother in the right shoulder, who is also eight months pregnant. Fortunately, neither of the two suffered from life threatening injuries after the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents. Meanwhile, the condition of the mom's unborn child was reportedly not revealed.
Police now believe the shooting to be accidental, Fox News reported.
The boy's father has been identified as Justin Reynolds. After the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents, he spoke to KOB-TV and gave an account of the moments leading up to and after the incident.
He said that he and his girlfriend, Monique Villescas, were getting ready to order pizza before the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents.
"It was like if I was to get up shake your hand and sat back down. That's how fast it happened. All of a sudden we heard a gun go off and the next minute I realized my girlfriend was bleeding. Then, I sat down and realized I was shot, too," said Reynolds.
Reynolds said he then called 911 before grabbing some towels to try and stop his girlfriend's bleeding.
"I was more worried about my girlfriend than myself and anything else that was going on. And my son because I didn't know if he had shot himself or not. He was shocked and crying. It was traumatizing," he added.
Also present during in the New Mexico hotel room was the boy's two-year-old sister. She was not injured after the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents. After treatment from the hospital, his father was released, but his pregnant mom remained in the hospital.
Apparently, the boy's mother bought the 9mm handgun from a pawn shop Saturday morning, hours before the shooting, reported The Guardian.
"This case will be forwarded to the DA's office and pending charges of felony criminal negligence will be reviewed on both parents," said Albuquerque police spokesman, Simon Drobik.
On Sunday, he also criticised the parents for keeping the unsecured gun in the vicinity of two children.
"I can't tell you why they had a loaded gun next to small children. Where are their priorities? It was lucky nobody got killed," said Drobik.
He added that there were also two "huge" pit bull dogs in the cramped motel room with the family when he arrived after the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents.
According to Drobik, when he arrived at the motel, the father had already called the children's grandmother and she was there trying to comfort the children. The officer moved the grandmother and the children to the nearby room then went back to attend to the wounded parents.
"It was a pretty gory scene. She was bleeding a lot," said Drobik.
Drobik reportedly put a tourniquet on the mother's arm as "she screamed the place down."
The police are now doing an investigation the shooting. The parents may be charged with felony criminal negligence. However, the decision will have to be made by the district attorney's office.
While earlier reports have said that the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents because the toddler found the gun in his mother's handbag, this account had not yet been verified as there were no independent witnesses.
"The gun could have been on the counter, or anything," Drobik said.
Police were still waiting to question the young boy gently in a special interview room. However, they were unsure whether he will be able to provide reliable information "as he's only three", said Drobik.
Both the three-year-old boy and his sister are now in the custody of Children's Youth and Families Department after the Albuquerque toddler shoots parents, reported CNN.
The family was living in a room at the America's Best Value Inn when the shooting incident happened, according to The Albuquerque Journal. They had been living there for the last week for reasons unclear, Drobik said.
Jonathan Hutson, a spokesman for the Washington-based Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said the incident should serve as a reminder to all parents to keep guns locked securely.
The Albuquerque toddler shoots parents and incidents similar to it by young children are not rare.
The CDC reports that as a result of accidental shootings , 62 children die each year, reported to The Inquisitr.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
