Police: 3-year-old playing with gun shot himself

ATLANTA — Police are investigating how a small child got access to a handgun and shot himself.

The 3-year-old boy was alone inside a bedroom at the Allen Hills Apartments on Middleton Road late Thursday night when he somehow got ahold of a gun and started playing with it, police said.

"I just hear the kids screaming and hollering that the baby had shot himself in the head and I heard some people say he shot himself in the jaw," neighbor Ivey McCullen said.

Investigators tell Channel 2 Action News that the boy is recovering at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite. Originally listed in critical condition, officers said Friday morning he is in stable condition.

A Channel 2 Action News Crew saw a prisoner transport van leaving the complex, but police have not said if they made any arrests. The shooting is still under investigation.

WSBTV