Grandmother Shot By 6-Year-Old Granddaughter: North Port Police

NORTH PORT, FL — A 6-year-old girl accidentally shot her grandmother in the back after finding a gun in the woman’s vehicle Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Officers responded to the 4200 block of Tollefson Avenue just before 3 p.m. for a report of a gun being accidentally discharged in a moving vehicle, according to a North Port Police Department news release.

The 57-year-old woman driving the vehicle told police that her granddaughter found a gun in the backseat and accidentally fired one shot through the driver’s seat, hitting her in the lower back, the agency said.

Before the shooting, the weapon was kept in a holster tucked in the back pocket of the driver’s seat, beneath a seat cover, according to NPPD.

The grandmother was able to drive home and call 911. She was airlifted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Sarasota campus with non-life-threatening injuries.

Staff at the Child Protection Center in North Port interviewed the girl. Others involved in the incident were also questioned during the investigation. Detectives determined the shooting was the result of an accidental discharge, police said.

“This is an unfortunate example of the importance of gun safety. Please take appropriate measures to make sure children cannot access firearms," North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said. "This could have been much worse, not only for the grandmother, but for the child. Thankfully, it appears that everyone is going to be okay."