EUSTIS, Fla. – A 5-year-old boy with autism accidentally shot himself in the head over the weekend at a home in Eustis, police said.
The shooting happened around 9 a.m. Sunday on Hunters Trail.
Eustis police said the boy somehow obtained his father’s gun and shot himself.
“I think this could be a wake-up call for a lot of other parents that if you have guns in your house and you have young children or any children for that matter,” said Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri. “Secure your weapons, know where your weapons are all the time, your firearms, and secure them, build that muscle memory so you know where the gun is at all times.”
A neighbor, who is a licensed flight nurse, assisted the child before police arrived, according to a case report.
The child was airlifted to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and underwent surgery, according to police, who said Monday that the boy was in stable condition.
Family members said their firearms were typically stored inside lock boxes on the top shelf of a bedroom closet. It’s not known how the child got hold of the gun.
Foul play is not suspected, with police calling the shooting an “accident.”
“When you think about it, a five-year-old boy or any child, for that matter of fact, getting shot with a gun, an accidental shot — it makes you really start putting things in perspective how young kids have access to guns,” said Capri.
[WATCH: Eustis Police Department seeks federal grant to hire more officers]