An 8-year-old boy tragically passed away after accidentally shooting himself while alone in a car while his mother was inside a convenience store in Lehi, Utah. The incident occurred around 7:40 p.m. on Monday. Despite being rushed to the hospital, the boy succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning, as confirmed by the Lehi City Police Department.
Authorities have described the shooting as unintentional and self-inflicted. It remains unclear how the child accessed the firearm, as no further information has been released by the police. Eyewitness Doug Shields recounted hearing the gunshot while refueling his vehicle and subsequently hearing the mother’s distress upon discovering that the boy had found the gun under the car seat.
This tragic event comes shortly after another incident in Santaquin, where a 5-year-old boy accidentally shot himself with a handgun at his residence, resulting in his death. Utah, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, lacks laws penalizing individuals for leaving unsecured firearms within reach of unsupervised minors. The state also does not mandate a specific storage method for unattended firearms or require the sale of firearms to include a locking device.
In a separate incident in St. Louis, a 4-year-old boy lost his life due to a gunshot wound sustained while in a house with three other children under the age of 10 and no adults present. Authorities are currently investigating to determine who was handling the gun at the time of the tragic incident.
