Mother in critical condition after 8-year-old accidentally shoots her at baseball game, gun owner charged
A mother is in critical condition after her eight-year-old son accidentally shot her, believing a gun he found at a college baseball game in Millington, Tenn. was a toy.
The gun's owner, Charles McFarland Jr., 76, was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, as per a statement released by the Millington Police Department.
The incident occurred during the annual Babe Howard Classic game at the U.S.A Baseball Stadium on Tuesday night. The young boy had been playing in McFarland's vintage World War II jeep, which was on display for Veterans Appreciation Day, when he discovered the loaded gun inside the vehicle. The eight-year-old believed the weapon was a toy and fired it at his mother.
The mother, who was conscious when she left the stadium, was taken to a Memphis hospital where she remains in critical condition.
"Secure your weapons," Millington police chief Mark Dunbar said in a press conference on Tuesday, according to NBC News. "Everybody's got a right to carry, if they got a carry permit, but you need to use common sense and secure your weapons."
McFarland is a veteran and gun shop owner. He also runs a military museum with his family in Atoka.
No bond has been set for McFarland.
The baseball game between the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee at Martin was suspended due to the shooting.
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