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Sandra Yi reportingA 2-year-old girl wounded herself in the head with a handgun she found at her grandparents' home Wednesday night, police said.
The slug hit the girl in the forehead and into the ceiling. She was conscious and crying when she was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center in serious condition.
The shooting happened in the area of 70th South and 8th East in Midvale.
Police say around 8 pm, the girl was playing in the master bedroom with her three and four year old siblings
The girl found a loaded 32 semi automatic handgun in the nightstand. The gun went off, with the slug hitting the girl in the head. At this time, officials are unsure of whether the slug penetrated the skull or just grazed it. Police believe the safety was on, and the gun was in a holster. They are investigating how it went off.
Darci Stilson, neighbor: "We are so concerned. We pray.. They are just really wonderful people. This was obviously an incident… and accident. That is all it could be. We love these people."
Sgt. John Salazar, Midvale Police Dept.: "If you are going to keep a handgun in a nightstand, make sure it's unloaded. If you are going to keep a loaded handgun in the house, and you have children 2 ½-years-old, keep it out of their reach."
Police say this is a lesson for all gun owners.
At the time of the shooting, the girls mother was in the living room.
Neighbors say they saw the grandfather come home, and frantically run into the house.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
