3-Year-Old Shoots Grandfather In The Neck After He’s Caught Playing With Handgun [Video]

A 3-year-old shot his grandfather in the neck, after he was caught fooling around with a gun inside the house. Nicholas Cardillo III, 46, was shot Thursday in North Carolina by his toddler grandson, after he discovered him playing with the weapon, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office says. WITN reports that Cardillo was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.

Sheriff David Grice tells reporters that Cardillo unloaded the magazine from his semi-automatic handgun on Thursday after he arrived home. He’d taken his gun out of his clothing and laid it down before unloading it. The gun wasn’t completely unloaded because one round remained inside the chamber, according to deputies.

Authorities say that the grandfather was in another part of the home when Cardillo heard something. When he went to explore what the noise was, he saw his grandson holding the handgun. Grice says Cardillo told the child to put down the gun, but the 3-year-old shot his grandfather. Cardillo suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, but it was non-life threatening.

WXII 12 News reports that the accidental shooting occurred a little after 7 p.m. on Wafford Road, which is off Highway 8 near High Rock Lake. WXII also adds in its coverage of the story that Cardillo was in the shower at the time he heard a noise in another part of the house. When he went to see what was going on, he caught his 3-year-old grandson holding the.380-caliber handgun. When he asked the child put the gun down, it discharged accidentally, striking Cardillo once in the neck.

The shooting is being investigated.

Another incident that involved a young child getting hold of a handgun happened over the holidays in Idaho, when a 2-year-old boy shopping with his mother reached around in her purse while he sat in the shopping cart. He accidentally fired the gun, shooting and killing his mother. She had gotten the gun as a Christmas present, and had the firearm in a purse designed to hold a concealed weapon. Unfortunately, her son discovered the gun, and fired it at her in a Walmart store. The Inquisitr wrote about the tragedy.

Numerous stories about children and guns continue making the headlines. Law enforcement is always reminding adults to keep dangerous firearms away from babies, toddlers, and young children. Even if the weapon is thought to be unloaded, shocking things like the 3-year-old shooting his grandfather happens. In a lot of cases, people are killed.

[Image via SMC Health]