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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A 3-year-old boy was rushed to Le Bonheur Children‘s Hospital Monday afternoon after showing up at a fire station in the airport area.

Memphis police said the young shooting victim was brought to the fire station in the 2200 block of East Shelby Drive at around 2:30 p.m. by family members.

The 3-year-old boy was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Investigators said the shooting was accidental and happened at a home in the 3100 block of Celt Cove.

Police say his father, 53-year-old Jerome Johnson, was charged with aggravated child neglect and reckless endangerment after the child got access to a gun he left unattended.

According to an affidavit, Johnson placed his handgun on the nightstand and began looking at a photo album when the child walked behind him, grabbed the gun, and fired a single round into his chest. The bullet then exited the child’s back and struck Johnson in his left pinkie finger.

Jerome Johnson

The child remains in critical condition.

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital said it has treated 128 patients for gunshot wounds so far this year. The hospital saw 158 shooting victims in 2021. The most recent data shows from January to September of this year, the hospital treated at least 30 patients who were accidentally shot.