Report: Child found gun under couch before shooting girl, 2

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Report: Child found gun under couch

By Tyler H. Jones

tjones@civitasmedia.com

LaGrange Public Safety Chief Lou Dekmar, left, speaks with police Lt. Dale Strickland outside a residence in the Wood Glen Apartments after a 2-year-old girl was shot Monday afternoon.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2016/01/web1_0104ChildShot01WEB1.jpgLaGrange Public Safety Chief Lou Dekmar, left, speaks with police Lt. Dale Strickland outside a residence in the Wood Glen Apartments after a 2-year-old girl was shot Monday afternoon.

Tyler H. Jones | Daily News

Emergency medical responders load a 2-year-old girl into a helicopter Monday afternoon after she was shot at about 4 p.m. in an apartment on North Cary Street.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2016/01/web1_0104ChildShot02WEB1.jpgEmergency medical responders load a 2-year-old girl into a helicopter Monday afternoon after she was shot at about 4 p.m. in an apartment on North Cary Street.

Tyler H. Jones | Daily News

LaGRANGE — Police continue to investigate a shooting that left a 2-year-old girl seriously injured Monday at an apartment complex in northeast LaGrange.

The girl was in stable condition following surgery Monday at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, according to police. No charges have been filed.

Initial incident reports obtained by the Daily News through an open records request state the girl was shot by another child in the living room of an apartment at the Wood Glen Apartments shortly after 4 p.m.

A LaGrange police officer was the first emergency responder to arrive at the apartment and found the mother holding the girl. The officer provided first aid as dispatchers sent emergency medical responders and firefighters to the scene.

A second police officer arrived and interviewed the other people who were in the home at the time of the shooting. The tenant, a woman, told police she was in a bedroom when the gun fired. At least one other child was in the living room. Based on the initial incident report, it appears the victim’s mother was also in the living room at the time of the shooting.

The incident report states that the children found the loaded gun underneath a couch.

The tenant told police after she heard the gunshot and found the gun, she placed it on a table, where police later retrieved it.

Police have only described the weapon as a handgun.

Following the shooting, emergency medical responders took the girl by ambulance to a nearby baseball field for air evacuation to Atlanta.

No further information was available at press time.

The Daily News will continue to update this story as information becomes available.

Tyler H. Jones is a reporter with LaGrange Daily News. He may be reached at 706-884-7311, ext. 2155.