PATTERSON SPRINGS, N.C.,- The 3-year-old son of North Carolina parenting columnist Justin Carper shot his 17-month-old sister using father’s gun on Thursday.
Carper writes a column for the Shelby Star and is a youth leader at his church.
According to reports, the family was doing renovations at their home when the boy got his hands on the 9mm gun, which was on top of a dresser, and shot his sister.
The girl was rushed to Cleveland Regional Medical Center and eventually ended up at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
In a turn of events that Carper called a “miracle,” the girl’s injury didn’t even require stitches and she is already cleared to return home from the hospital.
“It went through the top of her shoulder,” Carper told the Gaston Gazette. “She was feeding herself using that shoulder, using that arm. The bullet went straight through. You wouldn’t even know. Doctor after doctor have told us that there’s nowhere else the bullet could have gone that would have ended up with this story.”
“She’s a tough little girl,” Carper said. “My mind is pretty much blown.”
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Capt. Joel Shores said his office is still trying to determine if any charges will be filed. “Regardless of the outcome, the parents have been punished more than any criminal justice system can do to them by this happening,” Shores said.
