SOPHIA, N.C. (WGHP) — A man was charged with a misdemeanor after his child accidentally shot themselves with a pistol earlier this month, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
On Oct. 13, deputies received a report of an accidental shooting involving a 2-year-old that took place on Beckerdite Road in Sophia.
When deputies arrived, the Guil-Rand Fire Department was already at the scene and helping the child.
Investigators say that two adults and two children were walking on property they recently purchased just before the shooting occurred. The group had just gotten back into a pickup truck and drove for around 10 yards before they heard a loud bang, officials said.
The cause of that bang was the 2-year-old accidentally pulling the trigger of a pistol that was stored inside the truck, according to deputies.
The child’s father, Chase William Lee, rendered first aid and drove from the back of the property to the road so that first responders could easily find them, deputies said.
The child suffered a “superficial wound to the leg” and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
As a result of the investigation, Lee was issued a criminal summons for giving a weapon to a minor due to storing/leaving a firearm in the condition that it could be accessed and discharged by a minor.
Lee is scheduled to appear in the Randolph County District Court on Nov. 20.
