3-year-old shot, wounded in north Minneapolis; circumstances unclear

A 3-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded inside a north Minneapolis home on Sunday night.

The shooting occurred near the intersection of N. Sheridan and N. 23rd avenues around 8:45 p.m. Relatives took the child to North Memorial Health Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Minneapolis police spokesman Garrett Parten said the child was listed in stable condition. No arrests have been made in the case.

At the scene, crime tape enveloped a beige house with a Little Tikes basketball hoop just outside the front steps. Next door, a neighbor's lawn sign made an urgent plea: "Guns down, love up."

Authorities declined to confirm what evidence was collected or comment on the circumstances of the shooting. Early reports that the child had been playing outside at the time appear to be unfounded. A police spokesman said there is "no evidence to indicate the incident occurred outside."

Investigators scoured the area for shell casings by flashlight overnight, and later found a gun inside the residence, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The shooting marks at least the eighth child 10 years old and younger struck by gunfire in Minneapolis since last April. Six of the shootings occurred on the North Side.

Police have not said whether they believe the shooting was accidental or intentional. More than 108 children picked up a firearm and accidentally shot themselves or someone else in the United States this year, according to a database compiled by the gun-control advocacy group Everytown USA. Of those, at least three occurred in Minnesota, including one case in which a 12-year-old unintentionally shot and killed his 10-year-old brother while playing with an unsecured firearm in their downtown apartment in April.

A month earlier, a 2-year-old boy shot himself in the cheek after gaining access to a loaded handgun on the windowsill of the south Minneapolis apartment where he was staying. Criminal charges were filed against the gun owners in both cases.

In a year when homicides reached the highest level in a generation, a trio of shootings involving young victims last spring left the community reeling. Ladavionne Garrett Jr., 10, was critically wounded while eating a can of Pringles in the backseat of a car. Trinity Ottoson-Smith, 9, died jumping on a trampoline. Aniya Allen, 6, was killed on a ride home from McDonald's.

All three were hit in head by stray bullets over the course of just three weeks.