Aunt of toddler who shot himself : "He probably thought (the gun) was a toy"
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A three-year-old boy is clinging to life in the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the head over the weekend. The little boy's family says they are not blaming anyone for what happened -- but instead, just praying the boy gets better.
The family of three-year-old Kevin Donald is asking for prayers, as the little boy remains in critical condition.
The boy's aunt says doctors are waiting for the swelling to go down before any surgery can be done.
"It's tragic. It was the worst day of my whole 24 years of life. I never thought we would be going through something like this. It's very, very hard," the boy's aunt, Brittney Petersik said.
Petersik says it happened on Saturday, May 3rd, after a shopping trip -- when she and the boy's mother were unloading the car.
"The kids happen to see mom. We pull up and they ran out while we were bringing the TV out. If I would have seen him get in the car, I would have knew to get him out of the car," Petersik said.
Somehow, the boy got his hands on a gun that was in the glove box of his mother's car.
"He was curious. He probably thought it was a toy. It was a little gun. It didn't have a safety," Petersik said.
The little boy pulled the trigger, and shot himself in the head.
He was then rushed to Children's Hospital.
Petersik says the boy's mother is a responsible gun owner -- and says what happened is a tragedy, and something that was unexpected.
"She has her license. She didn't just buy the gun. It's not a new gun. It's hers. This was never meant to happen. The only reason it was in the car was because she had to take it out of her purse because we had to go to St. Vincent de Paul -- so you can't go into a church with a gun," Petersik said.
The incident has prompted Petersik to give advice to others.
"Take the clips out. Take the bullets out. Leave the clip somewhere else -- locked up somewhere for a kid not to find it," Petersik said.
The family has planned a prayer vigil for Tuesday, May 6th at the scene of the shooting (106th St. and Heather Ave.). That prayer vigil is planned for 6:00 p.m.
We're told Kevin is a vibrant little boy who was looking forward to his fourth birthday, which is in about two-and-a-half weeks.