Boys Playing With Gun, Police Say

A 10-year-old boy reportedly shot when a loaded gun fell from a closet Saturday actually was shot while playing with three other boys, Spokane police said Sunday.

Police were told Saturday that the boy was wounded in the thigh when he removed some clothes from a closet. The gun, wrapped in a blanket, supposedly fell to the floor and discharged.

Police said Sunday that the four boys were playing with the handgun Saturday afternoon.

The four were in the home of a 9-year-old boy, in the 2400 block of West Maxwell, police said. The children went through the dresser drawers of the boy’s mother, where a pistol was hidden. The 9-year-old removed the magazine, which held three rounds of ammunition.

The boy indicated that he was going to scare the 10-year-old, and the pistol fired, police said. One round in the chamber was not unloaded when the magazine was removed.

The bullet hit the 10-year-old in the right hip. The 9-year-old called 9-1-1, and the victim was taken to Deaconess Medical Center. He was held overnight and released Sunday, police said.

, DataTimes