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ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 4-year-old boy is in grave condition after being shot in the head by an apparent stray bullet in St. Louis on the Fourth of July, police said Tuesday.
Police initially said Monday that the department was reclassifying the shooting of Michael Goodlow III as a homicide after it was notified of his death. But police later reversed themselves, explaining in an email Tuesday that the department was “notified that the victim had in fact not succumbed to his injuries, and has not been pronounced deceased as initially advised.”
“However,” police spokeswoman Evita Caldwell wrote, “his condition is still grave at this time. We apologize for the confusion and do not have anything further to provide at his time.”
Police said the shooting happened Saturday night in a neighborhood northwest of downtown St. Louis. The child was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police said it appears the child was hit by a stray bullet while outside. No arrests have been made.
Caldwell said that the investigation was ongoing and that the department couldn’t confirm that the shooting stemmed from celebratory gunfire.
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This story was first published on July 6, 2020. It was updated on July 7, 2020, to correct that police later said the child was in grave condition, not dead.
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