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Sandra Yi ReportingA two-year old girl, who accidentally shot herself in the head yesterday, is recovering at the hospital. Police say she was playing with her grandfather's gun.
Amazingly, the little girl is doing well today. She's in fair condition at Primary Children's Medical Center. Police say she's lucky to be alive.
Darci Stilman, Neighbor: "They're just wonderful people. This was obviously an incident of an accident. That's all it could be."
Police say it was just that. But what happened even left investigators in disbelief.
Det. Steve Shreeve: "I think it's a miracle."
Last night two-year old Syndie Evans was in her grandparents' bedroom when she found a loaded 32 caliber semiautomatic gun, a Beretta Tomcat, belonging to her grandfather.
Sgt. Steve Shreeve, Midvale Police Dept.: "The little girl pulled the gun, which was holstered, out of the nightstand, pulled it out of the holster, and held it toward her own head and pulled the trigger."
The bullet hit her in the head, but didn't penetrate her skull.
Sgt. Steve Shreeve: "It went into the skin, struck the skull, and then traveled along the contour of the skull on top of her head, out into the ceiling. She would have had to have the perfect angle for it to strike the skull and not penetrate it."
Sydnie was flown to the hospital. She never lost consciousness.
Sgt. Steve Shreeve: "We just want to caution people that have firearms in their home that these things do happen, and most of the time, the results are not as positive as the results in Sydnie's case."
Sydnie's mother and grandparents were in the home at the time, but they were in another room. Police say no one will be charged. But they want people to learn a lesson from this.
Sgt. Steve Shreeve: "If a child lives in the home, secure all firearms and secure them separately form all your ammunition."
You may recall, about a month ago, an 11-year old accidentally shot his younger cousin in the mouth. They were playing with BB guns and a 22 caliber rifle, which they found on a shelf in a master bedroom. It was out of the way, but not secure.
A telephone survey conducted by the State Health Department showed at least 13 percent of state households report a gun in the home that is accessible to children.
Nationwide, 40 percent of homes with children and firearms reported having at least one unlocked gun, and 13 percent kept their unlocked firearm loaded or stored with ammunition.
Authorities say these unintentional shootings can be prevented. Sadly, many of them, don't end up as positive, as the situation in Midvale last night.
Clark Aposhian, Firearm Safety Instructor: "You have to maintain control of your firearms at all times, regardless of kids, teenagers, or curious adults."
Firearms safety instructor Clark Aposhian says households secure firearms differently. If you have kids and firearms, he suggests educating them at an early age to remove the mystery.
Clark Aposhian: "Certainly a child can handle an unloaded firearm under direct supervision, and will tend to take away that curiosity. Otherwise you're pretending you don't have a firearm in the home and hoping they will never find where you've hidden the firearm."
When a child discovers a gun they should stop, don't touch, leave the area, and tell an adult.
The instructor says a gunsafe is a good idea for gunowners who want an accessible firearm.
Clark Aposhian: "You just punch in your code. It pops open, you reach in and get your accessible firearm."
The instructor says education is the key and parents should structure that education to the age of the child. Never assume a child is too young to find a gun. A two-year-old did it last night and pulled the trigger.
