A woman accidentally shot her 7-year-old grandson early Tuesday morning after she thought there was an intruder in her home, police said.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the grandmother was sleeping with her twin grandsons at a home on Alta Monte Drive in the Town ‘N Country area.
The boys’ father had gone to work and the grandmother had placed a chair against the bedroom door handle for extra protection.
Deputies said that just before 1 a.m. she heard the chair sliding against the wood floor.
Assuming it was an intruder, she grabbed a loaded .22-caliber revolver she keeps by the bed and fired one shot in the dark, toward the door, deputies said.
Seconds after firing, she heard the screams of her 7-year-old grandson, who was shot in the upper body.
The boy was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in critical but stable condition.
The shooting is under investigation.
Agencies/Canadajournal