Norfolk man charged in tot's shooting

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A 34-year-old man has been charged with allowing a three-year-old to have access to a firearm after the child shot himself in the hand Wednesday.

Karen Parker-Chesson with the Norfolk Police Department said the shooting occurred in the 8000 block of Plymouth Street. The child was transported to the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters with a non-life threatening injury.

According to Parker-Chesson, the child's parents were in different parts of the home when the mother heard a gunshot followed by a cry from the child. That was when she found the child shot himself.

Police then issued a summons for allowing access to firearms by children to Robert Buchanan of Norfolk. He will have a hearing on Aug. 15 in Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Neighbor Joan Noble spotted several emergency vehicles on the street and waited outside her home.

"There was a fire engine that pulled up, detectives, police and then an ambulance," Noble told WAVY.com. "And then [the child's father] brought the little boy out in his arms and put him in the ambulance."

Noble said the boy wasn't moving and she feared the worst.

"He just looked like he was asleep," Noble said. "I'm praying he's going to be okay. I'm sure it was just an accident. Sometimes you're not secure as you usually are with hand guns. Maybe just for a second [the boy's father] didn't lock it up where he should have."

Parker-Chesson added Child Protective Services has been notified.