Toddler being loaded into car seat shot on New Year’s Eve, authorities in Kentucky say

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A toddler who was being loaded into his car seat in Kentucky was shot on New Year’s Eve, in an incident that his father connected to holiday revelers in a Facebook post, according to local media reports.

Dwight Mitchell, a public information officer for the Louisville Metro Police Department, told The Washington Post on Monday that the shooting occurred about 10:45 p.m. Saturday as a woman was putting her son into a car seat.

That’s when the toddler was “struck by a projectile,” Mitchell said. The boy was rushed to a hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.

Dustin Compton claimed in a Facebook post that his son, Cameron Eli, was the victim. He posted a picture of the 2-year-old and described what occurred Saturday night.

Compton, who did not respond to a Facebook message from The Post seeking comment, wrote that as he was leaving a service call, Cameron Eli was being placed in a car seat by his mother. That’s when the toddler was hit in the shoulder with a bullet, according to the Facebook post.

“Thank God it’s not fatal. Pray for my son and pray even harder for the idiot that [did] this,” Compton wrote. “I hope if someone knows anything they will do the right thing.”

Although the incident occurred before midnight, Compton indicated in his Facebook post that he believed it was tied to New Year celebrations, writing: “I want everyone to know that this is what happens when dumb people decide to shoot their guns off on new year’s.”

When asked whether police believed the toddler was hit by someone firing guns because of New Year’s Eve, Mitchell responded: “We certainly haven’t ruled out that fact.” He could not confirm that Compton’s son was the victim, saying he hadn’t seen local media reports.

There are no suspects at this time, Mitchell said.

Kelsyi Copley, who described the toddler’s father as a family friend, told WLKY that she slept through the incident but that when she awoke, the boy was being taken for medical care.

“We had a family friend come over to fix our heat,” Copley told the CBS affiliate. “He was leaving with his son. His wife was putting his son in the car, in the van, and the bullet went in and hit the boy in his shoulder.”

Copley told WLKY that she had heard gunfire earlier in the night.

“Back to back to back to back. Loud. Big booms,” she told the station. “I mean, some of them sounded like they was right out front, but don’t know how close they really was, but there was a lot of them.”

The boy has been released from the hospital, WAVE News reported.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Sarah Larimer 

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