Baby In Sonoma Co. Accidentally Shot By Father Improving, Expected To Recover

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – An 11-month-old girl who was accidentally shot by her father Saturday evening in Petaluma is improving at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland and is expected to recover, a police sergeant said.

The girl's parents were going out for the evening and her father was removing a handgun from a bedside table to secure it before they left, Sgt. Ed Crosby said.

The baby was on the bed with her mother when the gun fired, and the .45-caliber bullet passed through the back of the baby's left shoulder and exited through the right chest, Crosby said.

The bullet then went through the mattress and into a closet, Crosby said.

"It was pretty miraculous. A slight difference in trajectory and it would have been a different matter," Crosby said.

The incident is still under investigation, and the police report will be sent to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office to determine if any charges will be filed, Crosby said.

• Also see: Pedestrian Killed in Petaluma Identified

--Bay City News/File photo