CHA-COON!
2016-11-26 21:16:31 UTC
When authorities responded to the Philadelphia home on Thursday
afternoon, they discovered a young child who had been shot,
according to police.
The victim was just a toddler, police say.
And the person who investigators say pulled the trigger wasnt
much older. Authorities say the 2-year-old boy was shot by his 4-
year-old cousin, who was apparently playing with the gun before
it discharged, according to reports.
The mother was preparing Thanksgiving dinner when the two kids
were playing with the gun, Chief Inspector Scott Small told
reporters, according to the Philadelphia Media Network.
Rachel Santiago and Omar Laboy-Vega are now facing criminal
charges in connection with the incident, the Philadelphia Police
Department said in a statement. Local outlets reported that
Santiago and Laboy-Vega, both 34, are the 2-year-olds mother
and father, though police did not respond to a message from The
Washington Post seeking to confirm that Friday evening.
[Toddlers have shot at least 50 people this year]
The shooting happened about 4:20 p.m. Thursday, according to
police. Officers who arrived at the scene discovered that the 2-
year-old had gunshot wounds to his chest and finger.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the complainant was shot
by his 4-year-old cousin, police said in the statement, which
noted that the investigation was still ongoing.
The injured boy was rushed to a hospital, then transferred to
another medical facility. He was listed in critical but stable
condition, police said.
Our main concern, of course, is for the 2-year-old, Small told
a CBS affiliate, but also we want to know how this 4-year-old
was able to get ahold of this gun that was loaded.
Two handguns were collected from the home where the shooting
occurred. Small told the CBS affiliate that he didnt think the
4-year-old realizes what happened.
[Guns dont kill people, toddlers do: The shocking new gun-
control PSA focused on children]
The Philadelphia Media Network spoke with a neighbor, 49-year-
old Sonia Pizarro, who described what unfolded after she arrived
home about 10 minutes after the shooting.
The Media Network reported:
After she got out of her car, she said, a police officer was
carrying the 2-year-old boy, whom Pizarro knows by his first
name of Javier, into a police car.
The boys father then ran out of the two-story brick rowhouse,
hysterical.
My baby, my baby, my baby, the man screamed, with tears coming
down his face, Pizarro recalled.
Santiago has been charged with endangering the welfare of a
child and related offenses, police said. Laboy-Vega also faces
that charge, in addition to others.
The Philadelphia shooting comes just days after a Louisiana
mother was arrested after her 2-year-old son shot his younger
sister in the face.
So far this year, more than 600 children younger than 12 have
been killed or injured in incidents that involved guns,
according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks
data on shootings. And recently, the Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence released a public service ad that focused on gun-
related deaths involving toddlers.
Its time we did something, the satirical video notes. We
need to lock them up. Not the guns thats just un-American.
The toddlers. Round them up. Deport them. Get them out of our
country. And keep them away from our guns.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/11/26/a-
4-year-old-playing-with-a-gun-on-thanksgiving-allegedly-shot-a-2-
year-old-cousin-police-
say/?tid=pm_national_pop&utm_term=.1a3a00126701
afternoon, they discovered a young child who had been shot,
according to police.
The victim was just a toddler, police say.
And the person who investigators say pulled the trigger wasnt
much older. Authorities say the 2-year-old boy was shot by his 4-
year-old cousin, who was apparently playing with the gun before
it discharged, according to reports.
The mother was preparing Thanksgiving dinner when the two kids
were playing with the gun, Chief Inspector Scott Small told
reporters, according to the Philadelphia Media Network.
Rachel Santiago and Omar Laboy-Vega are now facing criminal
charges in connection with the incident, the Philadelphia Police
Department said in a statement. Local outlets reported that
Santiago and Laboy-Vega, both 34, are the 2-year-olds mother
and father, though police did not respond to a message from The
Washington Post seeking to confirm that Friday evening.
[Toddlers have shot at least 50 people this year]
The shooting happened about 4:20 p.m. Thursday, according to
police. Officers who arrived at the scene discovered that the 2-
year-old had gunshot wounds to his chest and finger.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the complainant was shot
by his 4-year-old cousin, police said in the statement, which
noted that the investigation was still ongoing.
The injured boy was rushed to a hospital, then transferred to
another medical facility. He was listed in critical but stable
condition, police said.
Our main concern, of course, is for the 2-year-old, Small told
a CBS affiliate, but also we want to know how this 4-year-old
was able to get ahold of this gun that was loaded.
Two handguns were collected from the home where the shooting
occurred. Small told the CBS affiliate that he didnt think the
4-year-old realizes what happened.
[Guns dont kill people, toddlers do: The shocking new gun-
control PSA focused on children]
The Philadelphia Media Network spoke with a neighbor, 49-year-
old Sonia Pizarro, who described what unfolded after she arrived
home about 10 minutes after the shooting.
The Media Network reported:
After she got out of her car, she said, a police officer was
carrying the 2-year-old boy, whom Pizarro knows by his first
name of Javier, into a police car.
The boys father then ran out of the two-story brick rowhouse,
hysterical.
My baby, my baby, my baby, the man screamed, with tears coming
down his face, Pizarro recalled.
Santiago has been charged with endangering the welfare of a
child and related offenses, police said. Laboy-Vega also faces
that charge, in addition to others.
The Philadelphia shooting comes just days after a Louisiana
mother was arrested after her 2-year-old son shot his younger
sister in the face.
So far this year, more than 600 children younger than 12 have
been killed or injured in incidents that involved guns,
according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks
data on shootings. And recently, the Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence released a public service ad that focused on gun-
related deaths involving toddlers.
Its time we did something, the satirical video notes. We
need to lock them up. Not the guns thats just un-American.
The toddlers. Round them up. Deport them. Get them out of our
country. And keep them away from our guns.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/11/26/a-
4-year-old-playing-with-a-gun-on-thanksgiving-allegedly-shot-a-2-
year-old-cousin-police-
say/?tid=pm_national_pop&utm_term=.1a3a00126701