Woman in critical condition after child shoots her accidentally, Kansas police say

A 31-year-old woman was hospitalized after Kansas police say a child shot her accidentally.

A 911 call came from the home shortly before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, according to a Wamego Police Department news release.

Responding officers from the police department and Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Department found the woman with a gunshot wound in her “upper chest area,” police said. She was taken by EMS to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, about 44 miles southeast. She was in critical condition at the time.

A preliminary investigation found that a juvenile child accidentally shot the woman while discharging a handgun, police said. The child lives in the home, though police did not say their relation, if any, to the woman.

Their age also was not provided, but WIBW reports they are a “small child.”

The shooting remains under investigation and police say it will then be sent to the Pottawatomie County Attorney’s office for review.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Woman in critical condition after child shoots her accidentally, Kansas police say."