Durham police are still piecing together what happened after a 3-year-old boy was shot on Feb. 10 at Trinity Commons and rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound. According to the department, the case remains an active investigation and, so far, no one has been charged.
What the warrant says
According to a search warrant obtained by investigators and reported by WRAL, the babysitter first told a 911 dispatcher that a tool had been pushed into an electrical socket and “exploded.” When EMS arrived, though, responders determined the injuries to the child’s hand were from a gunshot, not an electrical mishap.
The warrant states that responders found a Glock pistol lying on a bed with a spent casing still lodged in the weapon. It also says the babysitter later moved the gun into a closet while EMS crews were still on scene. As part of the investigation, police say they seized the handgun, a coffee cup, a 9 millimeter cartridge case, a loaded magazine and suspended touch DNA from the firearm.
Statewide context
The incident is unfolding against a worrying statewide backdrop. The N.C. Department of Public Safety’s NC S.A.F.E. campaign reports that guns are now the leading cause of injury-related death among children in North Carolina, with roughly 156 children and teens dying by firearms each year, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
Data from the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force, summarized in the North Carolina Medical Journal, shows firearm-related child deaths rose sharply between 2012 and 2021. Public health officials say the trend highlights the need for more consistent safe-storage practices. Advocacy groups are also pushing to broaden the state’s Child Access Prevention law so it applies to caregivers who do not live with a child, arguing that the current wording leaves gaps when kids are in the care of babysitters or relatives.
Durham’s recent pattern
According to WRAL, this boy is at least the fourth child in about nine months in Durham to be injured after finding an unsecured firearm, a pattern that neighbors and local leaders say has become alarmingly familiar…