Birmingham Man Accidentally Shot By 7-Year-Old: Police

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A 32-year-old man who died earlier this month was accidentally shot by a 7-year-old child, according to police.

The May 9 shooting death of 32-year-old Rodrick Smith has now been reclassified from a homicide to a non-criminal homicide/ accidental shooting. Police say Smith died after a gun was accidentally fired by the child, striking Smith.

The incident occurred just before 10 p.m. May 9 at 1221 Gulfport Street. Officers arrived to find the child with an injured hand — thought to be a gunshot wound — and Smith unresponsive on the floor with a gunshot wound. Smith was declared dead on the scene, while the child was transported to the hospital.

Sgt. Rod Mauldin of the Birmingham Police Department said detectives gathered sufficient evidence and the investigation revealed the child did not sustain a gunshot wound, but was injured by the slide of the firearm when the firearm discharged. "Evidence suggests the child accidentally discharged the weapon striking Smith," Mauldin said.

This announcement comes just a day after a child in Jefferson County accidentally shot himself in the face with a gun he found at a residence in Morris. That child, 5-year-old Silas Holt, was pronounced dead at Children's of Alabama just after 3 a.m. Monday.