'He Was Lifeless' Says Neighbor & Witness To Child Shot
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Investigators are searching a home in Aurora where a 7-year-old was shot in the head. They're trying to answer a load of questions that will help determine if criminal charges are filed.
The child was one of several, 12 years old and younger, who were in the home with no adults when the gun went off.
The victim has been upgraded to serious but stable condition after surgery Thursday night. Detectives are now executing a search warrant at the home, hoping to learn how the kids got their hands on a gun, who owns the gun, and who pulled the trigger.
A 911 call was made moments after a frantic 12-year-old banged on Tabitha Christy's door. She was the first person to help the six children home alone inside the house next door, where a 7-year-old visiting was shot in the head.
"He was lifeless. His eyes were going back to his head. I touched him to see if he was breathing and he was barely breathing," she said.
Christy said the other children were crying and hysterical. Her father-in-law made the 911 call.
"They said someone got a gun ... he said it was his dad's gun. Somebody must have gotten a gun and it wasn't in a safe spot. I'm a gun owner and it's stupid ... what it sounds like," Matthew Luther said to the 911 operator.
Neighbors said an older couple lives in the home and their adult son stays there with his 12-year-old child. That child, Christy says, is the kid who ran to her house for help.
She said this situation is a difficult reminder for any gun owner.
"Keep it away from your kids. Keep it locked up. Keep it in a safe ... just be safe about it. Kids are curious, that's not their fault," she said.
Police say safe gun storage means it's unloaded, locked in a cabinet, or has a gun lock on it. They also recommend all parents talk to their kids about what to do if peers are playing with guns, and why you shouldn't do it.