Sheriff: NC 3-year-old shot, wounded while playing with gun

LA GRANGE, N.C. — Authorities say a 3-year-old suffered a gunshot wound while apparently playing with a gun in North Carolina.

Maj. Richard Lewis with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office tells news outlets that responding deputies and medics found the child with a life-threatening injury at home Saturday.

The child was taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to a hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.

Investigators say the child's mother was watching another kid in the living room, while the child watched television and played in the parents' bedroom. She heard a loud noise and found the child and a small-caliber handgun on the bed.

Officials say there's no evidence of a gunshot entering the home from outside.

An investigation is ongoing. No updates about the child's condition have been released.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

• Long lines at Charlotte Douglas after TSA checkpoints briefly closed
• Police identify man found fatally shot outside north Charlotte gas station
• Woman charged after 63-year-old grandmother found shot to death inside car
• FORECAST: Dry start to the workweek before snow, cold temps arrive
• 3 dead, 3 injured after car slams into tree in Lancaster County, troopers say

Associated Press