St. Louis police officials say that a three-year-old boy was shot in the foot yesterday and taken to a hospital where he was in serious condition.
The official report says that the boy was playing outside on the 3700 block of Salena Street when his father reportedly "heard a loud noise" and found his son with a gunshot wound at around 1:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon.
They went to the hospital and police say that the boy is now stable.
Who shot him? Conflicting media reports offer more questions than answers.
See also: - Four-Year-Old Girl Hit in Dutchtown Drive-By Shooting, Police Search for Suspect - St. Louis Mom Nola Miller, 30, Allegedly Stabs Her Two Children
A St. Louis Metro Police Department spokeswoman tells us that this is still very much an open investigation and that there are no known suspects at this time.
KMOV (Channel 4), however, has a report with the headline "Father says 3-year-old shoots self in foot in south St. Louis." It's not clear where the station got this detail and, if it's true, how the boy had contact with a gun in the first place.
The police spokeswoman could not confirm to us the KMOV report. And the KSDK (Channel 5)'s report says that "the person responsible is being sought."
Here's the short incident report from police.
Incident: Assault 1st Location: 3700 block of Salena Date/Time: 05/01/13 13:35 Victim(s): 3-year old black male Suspect(s): Unknown Officers responded to a call from a local hospital after the victim's farther came into the hospital stating his child suffered a gunshot wound to the foot. He reported to officers that the victim was playing outside when he heard a loud noise and found the victim with a gunshot wound. The victim is listed in serious/stable condition. The investigation is ongoing.
Send feedback and tips to the author. Follow Sam Levin on Twitter at @SamTLevin.
